NOTES ON THE IROQUOIS: 



OR, CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE 



STATISTICS, ARORiniNAL HISTORY, ANTIQUITIES AND GENERAL ETHNOLOGY 



OF 



WESTERN NEW. YORK 



By henry R. SCHOOLCRAFT, 

Hon. Mem. of the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries, Copenhagen; Hon. Mnm 
of the Royal Geocraphical Society of London; Vice-President of the Americnn 
Ethnological Scocietyat JN'ew-York; Member of the American Philosophical, 
of the American Antiquarian, and of the American Geological Societies; 
Hon. i\[r-ni. of the New-York Historical, of tlie Georgia His- 
torical, and of the Rhode-Island Historical Societies, 
&c., &c., &c. 



NEW-YORK : 

n A R T L E T T & W E L F R D , 

ASTOR HOUSE. 

1846. 




<^'^ <^^ 



1^-1 



SENATE DOCUMENT, TWENTY-FOUR. 



In jjivine; a more permanent form to the original edition of tiiis docunienl, a 
more convenient reference title has been prelixed to it. 

The aboriginal nation, whose statistics and history, past and present, are 
brought into discussion in the following report, stand out prominently in the fore- 
ground of our own history. They have sustained themselves, for more than 
three centuries and a half, against the intruding and progressive races of Europe. 
During the period of the planting of the colonics, their military exploits gave 
them a name and a reputation which are coeval with Europe. These events are 
intermingled, more or less, with the history of each of the colonies, and imjiart 
to them much of their interest. But while we liave made an extaordinary pro- 
gress in population and resources, and gone far to build up a nationality, and 
commenced a national literature, very little, if any, progress has been made in 
clearing up and narrowing the boundaries of historical mystery, which shroud 
the Indian period prior to 1492. This forms, indeed, the true period of 
American Ethnology. 

It was a desideratum in American statistics, that a complete census of one of 
these primary stocks, who had lived in our neigliborhood all this time, and still 
preserved their nationality, should be taken. This task New-York executed in 
1845. It appeared desirable to the agent appointed to carry the act of the legis- 
lature, embracing this feature, into effect, that the opportunity should not be lost 
of making some notes of the kind here indicated ; and it is in this feature, 
indeed, if any thing, in the report now presented, that it aspires to the character 
of research, though it be intended only to shadow forth outlines to be filled up 
hereafter. 

New-York, Feb. 7, 1846. 



MEMORANDUM OF PAPERS. 



Page. 
Letter from the Secretary of State, laying the result of the census before the 

Senate, 1 

Statistical report, communicating the census returns, .... 3 

Letter transmitting supplemental report on their past and present history, ... 23 

I. Historical and Ethnological Mincjtes, . ... 29 

a. Sketch of the Iroquois Groups of Aboriginal Tribes, 29 

h. Ethnological suggestions, 33 

c. Indian Cosmogony, 36 

d. Gleams of their ancient general history, 38 

II. Origin AND History OF THE Iroquois, as a distinct people, 41 

a. Mohawks, 43 

b. Oneidas and the Oneida stone, (with three engravings.) 46 

c. Onondagas, (with a figure,) 54 

d. Cayugas, 57 

e. Senecas and their origin , 59 

/. Tuscaroras, and their flight from North Carolina, 64 

g. Necariages, 69 

h. St. Regis colony 70 

III. Epoch and Principles of the Iroquois League, 73 

a. Considerations, 73 

h. Era of the confederacy, 73 

c. Principles of their government and Totemic Bond , 76 

d. Ancient worship and system of astronomy, 85 

e. Witchcraft, its theory and practical evils, 87 

/. Wife's right to property — limited nature of marriage contract, 88 

IV. Arch.eology, 91 

a. Vestiges of an ancient French fori in Lenox, (with n plan,) 93 

b. Ancient site of the Onondagas at Kasonda, (with a sketch,) 96 

c. Antiquities of Pompey, Camillus, &,c., 103 

d. Ancient fort of Osco at Auburn, (with a plan,) 106 

c. Vestiges of an ancient elliptical work at Canandaigua, (with an 

outline,) 109 



VI MEMORAXDrM OF PAPERS. 

/. Fort- Hill, Genesee county, (with a plan,) IJl 

g. Rock-citadel of Kienuka, in Niagara county, (with apian,) 11(3 

h. Circular fort at DeoseowD, Erie county, (with an outline,) 120 

V. Ancient State of Indian Art , 125 

VI. Relics OF Aboriginai. Art IN Western New- York, 133 

Class 1. Nabikoaguna, [medals,] 134 

Class 2. MedJieka, [amulets,] 137 

Class 3. Attejeguna, [implements of art,] 139 

Class 4. Opoaguna, [pipes,] 140 

Class 5. Minace, [beads,] 142 

Class 6. PeasJi, [wampums,] 143 

Class 7, Jludwamina, [jingling dress ornaments,] 143 

Class 8. Otoauguna, [ear jewels,] 144 

Class 9. ^s, [shells,] 144 

Class 10. Ochalis, [nose jewels,] 145 

VII. Oral Traditions of the Iroquois, Historical and Symbolic, 147 

a. Ancient shipwreck of a vessel on the coast, 147 

b. Forays into the Cherokee and Cataba country, 148 

c. Exploit of Hiadeoni, 150 

d. Seneca embassy of peace to the Cherokees, and exploit of Awl,. . 153 

e. Grave- yard serpent and corn giant, 154 

/. Allusion to the siege of Fort Stanwix and battle of Oriskany, .... 155 

g. Defeat of the Kah-Kwahs, 155 

h- Epoch of the confederacy, 156 

i. Some passages of their wars with monsters and giants, 156 

VIII. Topical Inquiries, 163 

a. Who were the Fries? 164 

b. Building of the first vessel on the upper lakes, 166 

c. Who were the Alleghans ? 16S 

d. War with the Kah-Kwahs and their retreat down the Allegany,.. 176 

IX. Misce'-laneous Traits, JSI 

a. Infant Atotarho, 181 

b. Red Jacket and the Wyandot and Delaware claim to supremacy,. ]S2 

c. Brant and the Buffalo church, 183 

d. The county clerk and the wolf scalp, 184 

e. Specimen of Iroquc is picture writing, 132 

X. Moral and Social Condition and Prospects, 185 

Abstract of Census Returns 191 

Deaf and Dumb, Idiots, Lunatics akv Blind, 201 



MKMORANDUM OF PATERS. 



APPENDIX. 

Benton, 203 

Extracts from author's private journal, » 206 

Clark, 233 

Cusick, 237 

Goodwin, 241 

Follett, 243 

Dewey, 246 

Rockwood, with Tuscarora vocabulary, 250 

Bliss, 2til 

Hall, 263 

JMcMurray , with JVIohawk and Cayuga vocabulary, 264 

Shearman, with Oneida vocabulary, 278 

Walker, 2S2 

Morgan, 283 

Van Schaack, 284 



STATE OF NEW-YORK. 



No. 24. 

IN SENATE, 

January 23, 1846. 



COMMUNICATION 

From the Secretary of State, transmitting the report 
of Mr. Schoolcraft, one of the agents appointed to 
take the census or enumeration of the Indians, &c. 

Secretary's Office, ? 

Albany^ January Ylth^ 1846. ^ 

Hon. A. Gardiner, 

President of the Senate : 
SIR: 

In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 15th 
instant, I transmit herewith a report of one of the agents appointed 
to take the census or enumeration of the Indians residing upon seve- 
ral of the reservations in the State, and an abstract of all the census 
returns, taken pursuant to the fifteenth section of the act chapter 140 
of the laws of 1845, and of the statistical information required by 
the act, and also a report relating " to their past and present condi- 
tion." 

I am, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

N. S. BENTON. 



[Senate, No. 24.] 1 [3t & 250j 



REPORT 

Of Mr. Schoolcraft, to the Secretary of State, trans- 
mi ttino^ the census returns in relation to the I[i- 
dians. 



CENSUS OF THE IROQUOIS, 



Mw-York, October 31st, 1845. 
SIR: 

In conformity with your instructions of the 25th June last, I 
proceeded to the several Iroquois reservations therein named, and I 
have the honor herewith to transmit to you the census returns for 
each reservation, numbered from I to VIII, and distinguished by the 
popular name of each tribe, or canton. 

I. The question of the original generic name, by which these tribes 
were denoted, the relation they bear to the other aboriginal stocks of 
America, and the probable era of their arrival, and location within 
the present boundaries of this State, is one, which was naturally sug- 
gested, by the statistical inquiries entrusted to me. Difficult and 
uncertain as anything brought forward on these subjects must neces- 
sarily be, it was yet desirable, in giving a view of the present and 
former condition of the people, that the matter should be glanced at. 
For, although nothing very satisfactory might be stated, it was still 
conceived to be well to give some answer to the intelligent inquirer, 
to the end, that it might, at least, be perceived the subject had not 
escaped notice. 

A tropical climate, ample means of subsistence, and their conse- 
quence, a concentrated and fixed population, raised the ancient inha- 
bitantsof Mexico, and some other leading nations on the continent, 



4 [Senate 

to a state of ease and semi-civilization, which have commanded the 
surprise and admiration of historians. But it may be said, in truth, 
that, in their fine physical type, and in their energy of character, and 
love of independence, no people, among the aboriginal race, have 
ever exceeded, if any has ever equalled, the Iroquois. 

Discoveries made in the settlement of New-York, west of the De 
o w^AiN STA, or Stainwix Summit, have led to the belief, that there 
has been an ancient period of occupation of that fertile and expand- 
ed portion of the State, which terminated prior to the arrival of the 
Iroquois. Evidences have not been wanting to denote, that a higher 
degree of civilization than any of these tribes possessed, had, at a 
remote period, begun to develope itself in that quarter. But, hither- 
to, the notices and examinations of the antiquities referred to, although 
highly creditable to the observers, and abounding in interest, have 
served rather to entangle, than reveal, the archceological mystery 
which envelops them. Some of these antiquarian traits, not appear- 
ing to the first settlers to be invested wath the importance, as indus- 
trial or military vestiges, now attached to them, have been nearly or 
quite obliterated by the plough. The spade of the builder and exca- 
vator has overturned others ; and at the rate of increase, which has 
marked our numbers and industry, since the close of the revolution- 
ary war, little or nothing of this kind will remain, in a perfect state, 
very long. 

To gratify the moral interest belonging to the subject, by full 
and elaborate plans and descriptions, would require time and means, 
very different from any at my command the past season ; but the 
topic was one which admitted of incidental attention, while awaiting 
decisions and obviating objections which some of the tribes urged to 
the general principles and policy of the census. And while the 
subject of a full archaeological and ethnological survey of the State 
is left as the appropriate theme of future research, facts and tradi- 
tions, bearing on these subjects, were obtained and minuted down, ar 
various points. 

In availing myself of the liberty extended to me in this particular, 
by your instructions, I have, in fact, improved every possible means 
of information. Notes and sketches were taken down from the lips 
of both white and red men, wherever the matter itself and the trust- 



No. 24.] 5 

worthiness of the individual appeared to justify them. Many of the 
ancient forts, barrows and general places of ancient sepulchre were 
visited, and of some of them, accurate plans, diagrams or sketches 
made on the spot, or obtained from other hands, A general interest 
was manifested in the subject by the citizens of western New-York, 
wherever it was introduced, and a most ready and obliging disposi- 
tion evinced, on all hands, to promote the inquiry. 

The result of these examinations, and collectionsmadeby the way- 
side, it is my intention to report in the form of Historical and Eth- 
nological Minutes^ which will be engrossed without loss of time from 
my original notes. These minutes, when properly arranged and 
copied, will constitute a document supplementary to the report here 
offered. It is not to be inferred, however, that they will exhibit a 
compact and full digest of Iroquois history. Attention has rather 
been given to the lapses in their history, and to the supplying of 
data for its future construction. Little more has ever been thought 
of. This part of my investigations will be communicated, there" 
fore, as a contribution to the historical materials of the State, touch- 
ing its aborigines. Satisfied that the New-York public regard the 
subject with decided approbation, and well aware of the munificence 
which has marked the State policy, with regard to the acquisition 
of historical documents from abroad, I may, I trust, be permitted 
to indulge the hope, that the Legislature will likewise extend its 
countenance to this portion of the labor which, as the State Marshal 
under the act, I have performed. 

II. The present being the first time* that a formal and full census 
ot a nation or tribe of Indians has been called for, with their in- 
dustrial efforts, by any American or European government exercis- 
ing authority on this continent, the principles and policy of the 
measure presented a novel question to the Iroquois, and led to ex- 
tended discussions. As these discussions, in which the speakers 
evinced no little aptitude, bring out some characteristic traits of the 
people, it may be pertinent, and not out of j)lace here, briefly to 
advert to them. 

• It forms no contradiction to the precise terms of this remark, that the Legislature of 
Virginia directed the numbering of the Powhattanic tribes, within its boundaries, in 
1788. Vide Jefferson's Notes on Virginia. 



6 [Senate 

As a general fact, the policy of a census, and its beneficial bear- 
ings on society, were not understood or admitted.* It seemed to 
these ancient cantons to be an infringement on that independence 
of condition which they still claim and ardently cherish. In truth? 
of all subjects upon which these people have been called on to 
think and act, during our proximity to them of two or three cen- 
turies, that of political economy is decidedly the most foreign and 
least known to them, or appreciated by them, and the census move- 
ment was, consequently, the theme of no small number of suspi- 
cions and cavils and objections. Without any certain or generally 
fixed grounds of objection, it was yet the object of a fixed but 
changing opposition. If I might judge, from the scope of remarks 
made both in and out of council, they regarded it as the introduc- 
tion of a Saxon feature into their institutions, which like a lever, 
by some process not apparent to them, was designed, in its ultimate 
effects, to uplift and overturn them. And no small degree of pith 
and irony was put forth against it by the eloquent respondents who 
stood in the official attitude of their ancient orators. Everywhere, 
the tribes exalted the question into one of national moment. Grave 
and dignified sachems assembled in formal councils, and indulged 
in long and fluent harrangues to their people, as if the very foun- 
dations of their ancient confederacy were about to be overturned 
by an innovating spirit of political arithmetic and utilitarianism. 
When their true views were made known, however, after many days 
and adjourned councils, I found there was less objection to the mere 
numbering of their tribes and families, than the [to them] scruti- 
nizing demand, which the act called for, into their agricultural pro- 
ducts, and the results of their industry. Pride also had some weight 
in the matter. " We have but little," said one of the chiefs, in a 
speech in council, " to exhibit. Those who have yielded their as- 
sent, have their barns well stored, and need not blush when you 
call." 

Another topic mixed itself with the consideration of the census, 
and made some of the chiefs distrustful of it. I allude to the long 
disturbed state of their land question, and the treaty of compromise 

• To thisremaik, tlie Tuscaroras, who met the subject at once, in a frank and confi- 
dential manner, and the Onondagas, who appeared to be governed therein by tlie coun- 
sels of a single educated chief, form exceptions. 



No. 24.] 7 

■which has recently been made with the Ogden Company, by which 
the reversionary right to the fee simple of two of their reservations 
has been modified. In this compromise, the Tonewandas, a conside- 
rable sub-tribe or departmental band of Senecas, did not unite ; yet the 
reservation which they occupy is one of the tracts lobe given up . They 
opposed the census, from the mere fear of committing themselves on 
this prior question, in some way, not very well understood by them, 
and certainly not well made out by their speakers. It is known that, 
for many years, the general question of ceding their reservations, 
under the provisions of an early treaty of the State with the Six 
Nations, had divided the Senecas into two parties. A discussion 
which has extended through nearly half s. century, in which Red 
Jacket had exhibited all his eloquence, hati sharpened the national 
acumen in negotiation, and produced a peculiar sensitiveness, and 
suspicion of motive, whenever, in later times, the slightest question 
of interest or policy has been introduced into their councils. This 
spirit evinced itself in the very outset of my visit, on announcing to 
certain bands the requirements of the census act. Some of them 
were, moreover, strongly disposed to view' it as the preliminary step, 
on the part of the Legislature, to taxation. To be taxed, is an idea 
which the Iroquois regard with horror. They had themselves, in 
ancient days, put nations under tribute, and understood very well 
the import of a State tax upon their p^•operty. 

" Why," said the Tonewanda chief, Deonehogawa, (called John 
Blacksmith,) " why is this census asked for, at this time, when we are 
in a straitened position with respect to our reservation ? Or if it is 
important to you or us, why was it not called for before 1 If you do 
not wish to obtain facts about our lauds and cattle, to tax us, what is 
the object of the census ? What is to be done with the information 
after you take it to Governor Wright, at Skenectati 7"* 

IToeyanehqui, or Sky-carrier, a Buffalo chief, in answer to a ques- 
tion as to their views of the abstract right of the State to tax the 
tribes, evaded a direct issue, but assuming the ground of policy, com- 

• The Aborigines are very tenacious of their geographical names. This ancient name 
of the seat of government I found to be used, on every occasion, among the Senecas, 
when it was necessary to allude to Albany, Its transference on the conquest of the pro- 
vince, in 1664,to the banks of the Mohawk, in lieu of the aboriginal name of Onigara- 
ivantel, never received, at least, their sanction. 



8 [Senate 

pared the Iroquois to a sick man, and said, " that he did not belieye 
the State would oppress one thus weak." 

Kaweaka, a Tuscarora chief of intelligence, speaking the English 
language very well, in which he is called William Mount-Pleasant, 
gave a proof, in yielding to the measure promptly^ that he had not 
failed to profit by the use of letters. " We know our own rights. 
Should the legislature attempt to tax us, our protection is in the Con- 
stitution of the United States, which forbids it." This is the first 
appeal, it is thought, ever made by an Iroquois to this instrument. 
The clause referred to relates, however, wholly to representation in 
Congress, [Vide Art. ], Sec. II, 2d. J from the privileges of which it 
excludes " Indians not taxed," clearly implying that such persons 
might be represented in that body if " taxed." Civilization and tax- 
ation appear to be inseparable. 

III. Having detailed the steps taken in procuring the census, it 
only remains to subjoin a few remarks, which I beg leave to add, on 
the general features of the statistics and the results of their agricul- 
ture upon their condition and prospects. 

The printed queries baing prepared exclusively for a population in 
a high state of prosperity and progress, embrace many items for 
which there was no occasion, among psuedo hunters, herdsmen, or 
incipient agriculturists. Neither privileged to vote, nor subject to 
taxation, nor military service, or covered by the common school sys- 
tem, or bearing any of the charactaristic tests of citizenship, the 
questions designed to bring out this class of facts remained mere 
blanks. Others required to institute comparisons between a civilized 
and quasi savage state, were left by the tenor of your instructions, to 
my own discretion. I should have been, I am free to confess, happy 
to have extended these comparative views, much more fully than I 
have, going further into their vital statistics, their succedaneous 
modes of employment and subsistence, some parts of their lexicogra- 
phy, besides that affecting the names of places, and a few kindred 
topics, had not the legislature omitted to make provision for the ex- 
penses incidental to such extended labors, and the department to 
which I applied giving me little encouragement that the oversight 
would be remedied. I have, however, proceeded to render the com- 
parative tables effectual, and, I trust, satisfactory, and to this end, I 



Xo. 24.] 9 

have assumed obligations of a very limited pecuniary character, and 
incuneil others lor travel and some few kindred objects, which I trust 
the Legislatvirr, with whom nlon^e the subject rests, v.'ill meet. 

It cannot be said that the Iroquois cantons of New- York have, as 
yet, any productive commerce, arts or manufactures. They are, to 
some extent, producers ; furnish a few mechanics, and give employ- 
ment to, and own a few lumber mills ; but it is believed, while some 
of the bands, and at least one of the entire catons, namely, the 
Tustaroras, raise more grain and stock, than is sufTicient for their 
own full subsistence, the averpge of the agricultural products of the 
whole people is not more, at the most favorable view, than is neces- 
sary for their annual subsistence. If so, they add nothing to the pro- 
ductive industry of the State. But it is gratifying to know that they 
are at least able to live upon their own means ; and their condition 
and improvement is (certainly within the era of the temperance move- 
ment among them,) decidedly progressive and encouraging. They 
have reached the point in industrial progress, where it is only neces- 
sary to go forward. Numbers of families are eminently entitled to 
the epithet of good practical farmers, and are living, year in and year 
out, in the midst of agricultural aOluence. That the proportion of 
individuals, thus advanced, is as considerable as the census columns 
denote it to be, is among the favorable features of the inquiry. There 
would appear to be no inaptitude for mechanical ingenuity, but 
hitherto, the proportion of their actual number who have embraced 
the arts, is, comparatively, very limited, not exceeding, at most, two 
or three to a tribe, and the effort has hitherto been confined to silver- 
smiths,* blacksmiths, carpenters and coopers. A single instance of a 
wheelwright and fancy wagon maker occurs. 

Viewed in its extremes, society, in the Iroquois cantons, still exhi- 
bits no unequivocal vestiges of the tie which bound them to the hun- 
ter state ; and even, among the more advanced classes, there is too 
much dependence on means of living which mark either the absolute 
barbaric state, or the first grade of civilization. Hunters they are, 
indeed, no longer ; yet it was desirable to ascertain how much of 

• The Iroquois, in adopting our costume, have transferred their ancient love of silver 
amulets, frontlets, and other barbaric ornaments, to their guns and tomahawks, which are 
frequently richly inlaid with the shining metal, worked with great skill into the richest 
devices. They also fashion beautiful car rings of silver for their women. 

No. 24.] 2 



10' [Senate 

ffeeir present rceans of subsistence was derived from the ebase. This- 
will be found to be denoted in appropriate columns. It is gratify- 
ing to observe, that the amount is so small, nor is it less so, to the 
cause of Indian Givilization, to remark, that the uncertain and scanty 
reveard of time and labor which the chase affords, is less and less re- 
lied on, in the precise ratio that the bands and neighborhoods advance 
in agriculture and the arts. In cases where the cultivation of Eng- 
lish grains and the raising of stock have thoroughly enlisted atten- 
tion, the chase has long ceased to attract its ancient votaries, and in 
these instances, which embrace some entire bands, or chieftaincies, it 
has become precisely what it is, in civilized communities, where game- 
yet exists, an amusement^ and not a means of reward. 

That delusive means of Indian subsistence, which is based on the 
receipt of money annuities from the government, still calls together 
annually, and sometimes oftener, the collective male population of 
these tribes, at an expense of time, and means, -which is wholly dis- 
proportioned, both to the amount actually received, and the not un- 
important incidental risques, moral and pkysicalj incurred by the 
assemblage. I have denoted both the gross sum of these annuities^ 
and the distributive share to heads of families, obtained from the 
office of the local government agent at Buffalo. These are believed 
to be authentic in amount. Estimated at the highest rate which can 
be taken, the sum, per capita, of these annuities, wall not, on an ave- 
rage of crops and prices, for a series of years, equal the cash value 
of seven bushels of wheat — a product, which, as a means of actual 
subsistence to the Indian family, would be of double or treble value. 
But this is far from being the worst effect of both the general and 
per capita cash distribution. Time and health are not only sacrificed 
to obtain the pittance, but he is fortunate who does not expend the 
amount in the outward or return journey from the council house, or 
in the purchase of some showy but valueless articles, while attending 
there. 

A still further evil, flowing from these annual gatherings for the 
payment of Indian annuities, is the stimulus which it produces m 
assembling at such places traders and speculating dealers of various 
kinds, who are versed in this species of traffic, and who well know 
the weak points of the native character, and how best to profit by 



No. 24.] 11 

them. In effect, few of the annuitants reach their liomes with a 
(lime. Most of them have expended all, and lost their time in addi- 
tion. Health is not unfrequently sacrificed by livintr on articles, ot 
an a manner not customary* at home. The intemperate are confirmed 
in intemperance ; and the idle, foppish and gay, are only more ena- 
TDoured of idleness, foppishness and pleasure. That such a system, 
introduced at an early day, when it was policy for governments on 
this continent, foreign and domesiic^ to throw out a boon before 
wandering, hostile, and savage tribes, to display their munificence, 
and effect temporary interests, should have been continued to the 
present day, is only to be accounted for, from the accumulated duties, 
perpetually advancing jurisdiction, and still imperfectly organized 
state of that sub-department of the government, which exercises its, 
in some respects, anomalous administrative functions, under the name 
of the Indian Bureau. So far as the Iroquois are affected by the 
policy adverted to, their interests demand an immediate consideration 
of the subject on enlarged principles. It behooves them to meditate 
whether, as a people, now semi-civilized, and exercising, in their in- 
ternal polity, the powers of an independent government, some more 
beneficial appropriation of the fund could not be made. Perhaps 
nothing would better serve to advance and exalt them, as a people, 
than the application of these annuities to constitute a confederate 
school fund, under some compact or arrangement with the State, by 
which the latter should stipulate to extend the frame-work of the 
common school system over their reservations. 

Horticulture, to some extent, and in a limited sense, was always 
an incident to the hunter state among these tribes, so far, at least, 
as we are acquainted with their history. They brought the zea 
maize with them, we must concede, on their early migration to the 
banks of the Mohawk, and the Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga and Se- 
neca basins ; for this grain is conceded, on ^11 hands, to be a tro- 
pical, or at least a southern plant, and if so, it reveals the general 
course of their migration. It is of indigenous origin, and was not 
known to Europe before the discovery. We learned the mode of 
cultivation from them, and not they from us. This grain became 
the basis of their fixity of population, in the 14th or loth centuries, 
and capacity to undertake military enterprises. It was certainly cul- 
tivated in large fields, in their chief locations, and gave them a title 



12 [Senate 

io agriculturists ; but it is equally certain that they had a kind of 
bean, perhaps the same called frijoles by the early Spaniards, and 
some species of cucurbita. These were cultivated in gardens. 

The tables will show a general and considerable advance, on any 
probable assumed basis, of the cultivation of corn. We cannot con- 
sifJer this species of cultivation, however, as any characteristic evi- 
dence of advance in agriculture, while the more general introduction 
of it, and the harvesting of large fields of it, by separate familieSy 
is undoubtedly to be considered so. Taking the item of corn as the 
test, another and an important result will be perceived. In propor- 
tion as the cereales are cultivated, the average quantity of corn is di- 
minished ; and these are the very cases where, at the same time, the 
degree of civilization is most apparent in other things. 

The condition of herdsmen is deemed by theorists and historians 
to be the first step in the progress from the hunter state. But we are 
in want of all evidence to show that there ever was, in America, a 
pastoral state. In the first place, the tribes had tamed no quadru- 
ped, even in the tropics, but the lama. The bison was never 
under any subjection, nor a fleece ever gathered, so far as history 
tells us, from the Big-horn or Rocky Mountain sheep. The horse, 
the domestic cow, the hog and the common sheep, were brought over 
after the discovery ; and the Iroquois, like most of their western 
brethren, have been very slow, all advantages considered, in raising 
Ihem. They have, in fact, had no pastoral state, and they have only 
become herdsmen at the time that they took hold of the plough. 
The number of domestic animals now on their reservations, as shown 
by the tables, bears a full proportion to their other industrial field 
labors. It will be seen, that while horses, neat cattle and hogs are 
generally raised, sheep come in, at more mature periods of advance, 
and are found only on the largest and best cultivated farms. Sheep, 
therefore, like the cereales, become a test of their advance. With 
this stage, we generally find, too, the field esculents, as turneps, peas, 
&c. and also buckwheat. I have indicated, as a further proof of 
their advance as herdsmen and graziers, the number of acres of 
meadow cut. The Iroquois cultivate no flax. They probably raise 
no rye, from 'the fact that their lands are better adapted to wheat ani] 
corn. 

The potato was certainly indigenous. Sir Walter Raleigh^ in his 



No. 24.J 13 

efforts at colonizations, had it brought from "Virginia, uniler the ori- 
ginal name o^openaiog* But none of the North American tribes are 
known to have cultivated it. They dug it up, like otlier indigenous 
edible roots from the forest. But it has long been introduced into their 
villages and spread over the northern latitudes, far beyond the pre- 
sent limit of the zea maize. Its cultivation is so easy and so similar 
to that of their favorite corn, and its yield so great, that it is remark- 
able it should not have received more general attention from all the 
tribes. With the Iroquois, the lists will denote that, in most cases, 
it is a mere item of horticulture, most families not planting over half 
an acre, often not more than a quarter of an acre, and yet more fre- 
quently, none at all. 

The apple is the Iroquois banana. From the earliest introduction 
of this fruit into New-York and New-France, from the genial plains 
of Holland and Normandy, these tribes appear to have been capti- 
vated by its taste, and they lost no time in transferring it, by sowing 
the seed, to the sites of their ancient castles. No one can read the 
accounts of the destruction of the extensive orchards of the apple, 
which were cut down, on (len. Sullivan's inroad into the Genesee 
country in 1779, without regretting that the purposes of war should 
have required this barbaric act. The census will show that this 
taste remains as strong in 1845, as it was 66 years ago. 

Adverse to agricultural labor, and always confounding it with sla- 
very, or some form of servitude, at least, deeming it derogatory, ihe 
first effort of the Iroquois to advance from their original corn-field 
and garden of beans and vines is connected with the letting out of 
their spare lands to white men who were cast on the frontiers, to cul- 
tivate, receiving for it some low remuneration in kind or otlierwise, 
by way of rent. This system, it is true, increased a little their 
means of subsistence, but nourished their native pride and indolence. 
It seems to have been particularly a practice of the Iroquois, and it 
has been continued and incorporated into their present agricultural 
system. I have taken pains to indicate, in every family, the amount 
of land thus let, and the actual or estimated value received for it. 
These receipts, I was informed, low as they are in amount, are gen- 
erally paid in kind, or in such manner as often to diminish their value 
and eflfect, in contributing to the proper sustenance of the family. 

• By the Algonquins of the present day, this plant is called, in the plural, opineeg. 
The inflection in ecg denotes the plural. 



14 [Senate 

I have been equally careful to ascertain the number of families 
who cultivated no lands, and insert them in the tables. The division 
of real property among this people appears to fall under the ordinary 
rules of acquisition in other societies. But it is not to be inferred in 
all cases, that the individual returned as without land has absolutely 
no right to any, or having this right, has either forfeited or alienated 
it, although the laws of the tribe respecting property, permit one 
Iroquois to convey his property in fee to another. It is only to be 
inferred, in every case, that they are non-cultivators. In a few cases 
the persons thus marked are mechanics, and rely for support on their 
skill. In the valley of the Alleghany, some of them are pilots in 
conducting rafts of lumber or arks down that stream. It would have 
relieved the industrial means of this band of the Senecas, extended 
as they are for forty miles along both banks of this river, could the 
amount received for this species of pilotage have been ascertained, 
together with the avails derived from several saw-mills owned by 
them, and from the lumber trade of that river generally. But these 
questions would have remained a blank in other tribes. 

Not a few persons amongst the Onondagas andTuscaroras, and the 
Tonewandas and other bands of Senecas, living in or contiguous to 
the principal wheat growing counties, labor during the harvest sea- 
son as reapers and cradlers, for skill and ability in w^hich occupations 
they bear a high reputation, and receive good wages in cash. There 
are a few engaged some parts of the year, as mariners on the lakes. 
It will be sufficient to denote these varied forms of incipient labor 
and strength of muscle and personal energy among these tribes, 
which it was, however, impracticable to bring into the tables. 

Individual character vindicates its claims to w^ealth and distinction 
among these tribes in as marked a manner as among any people in 
the world. Industry, capacity and integrity, are strongly marked on 
the character and manners of numbers in each of the tribes. The 
art of speaking, and a facility in grasping objects of thought, and in 
the transaction of business, separate and distinguish persons as fully 
as physical traits do their faces. And it is to be observed that these 
intellectual traits run very much in certain families. That there are 
numbers, on the contrary, who are drones in the political hive, who 
do not labor, or labor very little ; others who are intemperate ; 
others who neither work nor own land, or would long remain pro- 



No. 24. J 15 

prietors of them, were new divisions and appropriations made, and 
all of whom are a burden and draw-back upon the industrious and 
producing classes, it requires little observation to show. Admitting 
what reforms teaching and example may accomplish among these, it 
is yet certain that of this numl)er there are many who do not assimi- 
late, or appear to constitute material for assimilation, in tastes and 
habits with the mass, nor appear likely to incorporate with them in 
any practical shape where they now reside, in their advances in agri- 
culture, government and morals. The hunter habit in these persons 
is yet strong, but having nothing to stimulate it, they appear loth to 
embrace other modes of subsistence. Others stand aloof from labor, 
or at least all active and efficient labor, from a restless desire of 
change, or ambition to do something else than plough and raise stock; 
or from ill-luck, penury, or other motives. The proportion of the 
population who thus stand still and do not advance in civil polity, 
are a strong draw-back on the rest. It is conceived to be a pertinent 
question whether this class of the population would not find a better 
theatre for their progress and development by migrating to the 
west, where the general government still possess unappropriated terri- 
tory at their disposal. It is believed by many that their migration 
would result in benefit to both parties. The question is one which has 
been often discussed by them in council, and is not yet, I should judge, 
fully settled. A point of approach for the Iroquois has already been 
formed in the Indian territory by the Senecas and Shawnees from 
Sandusky in Ohio, who, at the last accounts (vide President's Mes- 
sage to Congress, 1844,) number in the aggregate 336 souls. They 
are located on the Neosho river, (a branch of the Arkansas.) west of 
the western boundary of the State of Arkansas, where the reports of 
the government agents represent them as raising horses, cattle and 
other stock, and being producers of grain. In any view, the subject 
of the several classes of persons represented in the accompanying 
tables, as semi hunters and non-cultivators, or individuals without 
lands, is one entitled to attention. They should not be permitted to 
live within the boundaries of the State without lands. The State 
should cherish all who choose to remain as vestiges of a once pow- 
erful race, to whose wisdom an 1 bravery we owe the preservation of 
the domain. It would be unjust to expect the industrious and fore- 
handed Iroquois to redivide their lands with the poor, and, to some 
extent, thriftless numbers of the cantons ; while it may, at the same 



16 [Senate 

time be observed, that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to 
provide by legislation, suitable guards against their deterioration and 
depopulation in their present locations without destroying wholly 
the fabric of their confederation, chieftainships and laws. 

IV. Whether the Iroquois have advanced in population since they 
have laid aside the character of warriors and hunters, and adopted 
agriculture as their only means of support, we have no accurate data 
for determining. That their ancient population was overrated, and 
very much overrated, at all periods of our history, there can be little 
question. We may dismiss many of these rude conjectures, of the 
elder writers, as entitled to little notice, particularly that of La Hou- 
ton, who estimates each canton at 14,000 souls. Still, after making 
every abatement for this tendency in the earlier authors to exagge- 
rate their actual numbers, it could have been no small population, 
which, at one time, attacked the island of Montreal with twelve 
hundred armed warriors, and at another (1683) marched a thousand 
men against the Ottagamies.* 

Smith puts the whole number of fighting men, in 1756, with a mo- 
deration which is remarkable, compared to others who had touched 
the subject, at about twelve hundred. Giving to each warrior a 
home population of five^ which is found to hold good, in modern 
days, in the great area of the west, we should have an aggregate of 
6,000 — a result, which is, probably, too low. Douglass, four years 
afterwards, gives us data for raising this estimate to 7,500. Col. 
Bouquet, still four years later, raises this latter estimate by 250. It 
must be evident that their perpetual wars had a tendency to keep 
down their numbers, notwithstanding their policy of aiding their 
natural increase by the adoption and incorporation into the cantons, 
in full independence, of prisoners and captives. 

Mr. Jefferson estimates the population of the Powhatanic confede 
racy or group of tribes, at one individual to the square mile.f Gov. 
Clinton, who ably handled the subject in a discourse in 1811, esti- 
mates that, if this rule be applied to the domain of the Iroquois in 
New-York, an aggregate of not less than 30,000 would be produced ;| 
but he does not pass his opinion upon an estimate made so complete- 
ly without reliable data. 

• Colden's Five Nations. t Notes on Virginia. % Coll. N. Y. Hist. Soc. vol. 2. 



No. 24.] 17 

At a conference with the five cantons at Albany, in 1677, the num« 
ber of warriors was carefully made out at 2,150, giving, on the pref 
ceding mode of computation, a population of 10,750, and this wai 
the strength of the confederacy reported by an agent of the Gover- 
nor of Virginia, who had been specially despatched to the conference 
for the purpose of obtaining this fact. Either, then, in the subsequent 
estimates of 1756, '60, and '64, the population had been underrated, 
or there had, on the assumption of the truth of the above enumera- 
tion, which is moderate, been a decline in the population of 3,000 
souls in a period of eighty -seven years. That there was a constant 
tendency to decline, and that the cantons were aware of this, and 
made eiforts to keep it up, by the policy of their conquests, is appa- 
rent, and hao before been indicated. 

During the American revolution, which broke out but eleven 
years after the expedition and estimate of Bouquet, w^ien he had put 
the Iroquois at 1,550 fighting men, it is estimated that the British 
government had in their interest and service 1,580 warriors, of this 
confederacy. The highest number noticed of the friendly Oneidas 
and a few others, who sided with us in that contest, is 230 warriors, 
raising the number of armed men engaged in the war, to 1,810, and 
the gross population in 1776 to 9,050 souls. This estimate, which 
appears to have been carefully made, from authentic documents, is 
the utmost that could w^ell be claimed. It was made at the era when 
danger prompted the pen of either party in the war to exhibit the 
military strength of this confederacy, in its utmost power ; and we 
may rest here, as a safe point of comparison, or, at least, we cannot 
admit a higher population. 

By the census returns herewith submitted, the aggregate popula- 
tion of the three full, and four fragmentary cantons, namely, the 
Oneidas and Cayugas, &c. still residing within the State, are denoted 
to be as follows, namely : 

Senecas, 2,441 

Onondagas, 398 

Tuscaroras, 281 

Oneidas, 210 

Cayugas, 123 

Mohawks, 20 

St. Regis Canton, 360 

[Senate, No. 24.] 3 



18 [Senate 

By a statement submitted to Congress, on the 3d of December, 
1844,* the number of Oneidas, settled in Wisconsin, is put at 722 ; 
the number of Senecas, who have removed from Ohio into the Indian 
territory west of the Mississippi, at 125, and the number of mixed 
Senecas and Shawnees, at the same general location, at 211. De- 
ducting one-half of the latter, for Shawnees, and there is to be added 
to the preceding census, in order to show the natural increase of the 
Iroquois, 953 souls. The number of the St. Regis tribe, who are 
based, as a tribe, on the Praying Indians of Golden, — a band of Ca- 
tholic Mohawks originally located at Caughnawaga is shewn by the 
present year's census to be 360. There are, at the village of Corn- 
planter, within the bounds of Pennsylvania, as numbered by me, the 
present year, 51 Senecas. Supposing that the Mohawks and Cayu- 
gas who fled to Canada at and after the revolutionary war, and 
who are now settled at Brantford on Grand river, Canada Westy 
have merely held their own, in point of numbers, and deducting the 
number of Cayugas, namely, 144, found among the Senecas of Cat- 
taragus, and herewith separately returned, and taking Dalton's esti- 
mate of the Mohawks and Cayugas in 1776, namely, 300 warriors 
for each tribe, there is to be added, to the census, to accomplish the 
same comparative view, two thousand eight hundred and fifty souls. 
From this estimate, there must be deducted, for a manifest error, in 
the original estimates of Dalton, in putting the Cayugas on the same 
footing of strength with the Mohawks, not less than 150 warriors or 
750 souls, leaving the Canadian Iroquois at 2,106 — say 2,000 souls. 

Adding these items to the returns of the present census, and the 
rather extraordinary result will appear, that there is now existing in 
the United States and Canada a population of 6,942 Iroquois, that is 
to say, but 2,108 less than the estimated number, and that number 
placed as high as it well could be, at the era of the revolution in 
1776. Of this number, 4,836 inhabit the United States, and 3,843 
the State of New-York. I cannot, however, submit this result 
without expressing the opinion, that the Iroquois population has been 
lower, between the era of the revolutionary war and the present time, 
than the census now denotes ; and that for some years past, and since 
they have been well lodged and clothed and subsisted by their own 
labor, and been exempted from the diseases and casualties incident to 

• Vide Doc. No. 2, Ho. of Reps., 28th Congress, 2d Session. 



No. 24. j 19 

savage life, and the empire of the forest, their population has reco- 
vered and IS NOW ox the increase. 

I have thus brought to a close, so far as relates to their population 
and industrial efforts, the inquiry committed to me respecting this 
nation. It would perhaps have gratified statistical curiosity and phi- 
losophical theory, to have exhibited fuller data on the subject of their 
longevity and vital statistics generally, but it may be considered in 
the light of an achievement to have accomplished thus much. The 
general result indicates five, with a large fraction, as the average 
number of the Iroquois family. Throughout each canton, the num- 
ber of females predominates over the males. This is a fact which 
has been long known to hold good w^ith respect to wandering, preda- 
tory and warlike tribes, but w^as not anticipated among peaceful, ag- 
ricultural communities. But few years, however, have supervened 
since they dropped the hatchet and took hold of the plough ; and in 
this time, it is apparent that the proportion of males to females has 
approached nearer to an equilibrium. The effects on vitality of ag- 
ricultural labor and a cessation from war, are likewise favorable, so 
far as w^e can judge, compared with the known results among the 
sparse, ill fed, warring and errating hunters of the western forests 
and prairies. The average number of the Iroquois family is not 
higher than the common average of the hunter state. The number 
of children borne by each female is a considerable fraction over four. 
Of a population of 312 Tuscaroras, five have reached to and passed 
the age of SO, or over H per cent. Among the Senecas and Cayugas 
of Cattaraugus, the per centage is 1^, with a smaller fraction, 12 
persons in SOS having passed that limit. Local causes have dimin- 
ished this to one per cent nearly on the Buffalo reservation. On the 
contrary, it is found to be increased in the valley of the Alleghany 
to full two per cent. The ruling chief of that tribe. Ten won 
NY AHS, of Teonegono, commonly called Blucksnake, is now in his 
ninety-sixth year, and is active and hale, and capable of performincr 
journies to the annual assemblies of his people at Buffalo. 

1 should have not fulfdled the principal object in view, without 
directing some attention to the effects of the labors of past years in 
the introduction, into the Iroquois cantons, of education, letters and 
Christianity. So much of this branch of the inquiry as admits of 
arithmetical notice, will appear, either under the ordinary heads of 



20 [Senate 

the census, or the additional columns which have been prepared 
under the headings of " statistics of occupation and of morality." 
The residue, comprising some remarks on the schools and churches, 
the present slate of Iroquois society and manners, and the general 
condition and prospects of the cantons, will be included in the sup- 
plementary report and documents. I shall also defer to the same 
time, a particular notice of their annuities, and the extent of their 
ancient domain, and the periods of its cession to the State or general 
government. 

In closing this report, it may be w^ell to notice the fact that there 
are yet remaining in the State, some vestiges of the Algonquin race, 
who, under various distinctive names, occupied the southern portion 
of the State at the era of its discovery and colonization. As the 
language of the census act refers to such Indians only as live on the 
" reservations," I have not felt it to be within the scope of my ap- 
pointment to search out and visit these scattered individuals, although 
I should have been gratified to make this inquiry. It is believed 
that they are comprised by about twenty of the Shinecock tribe, 
who yet haunt the inlets and more desolate portions of Long island, 
and by a very few lingering members of the ancient Mohegans, who 
under the soubriquet of Stockbridges, yet remain in Oneida county. 
The bulk of this people, so long the object of missionary care, mi- 
grated to the banks of Fox river and Winnebago lake, in Wiscon 
sin, about 1822. They were followed to that portion of the west, 
about the same time, or soon after, by the small consolidated band 
of Nanticokes, Narragansetts, and other early coast tribes, who, in 
concentrating in the Oriskany valley, after the close of the revolu- 
tionary war, dropped their respective languages, learned the English, 
and assumed the name of Brothertons. Both these migrated tribes 
were in an advanced state of semi-civilization, and were good farmers 
and herdsmen at the era of their removal. 

I am, sir, 

With respect. 

Your obd't servant, 

HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT, 
Marshal under the 15th section of the census act, 

Hon. Nathaniel S. Benton, 

Secretary of State. 



SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT 

Of Henry R. Schoolcraft to the Secretary of State. 



ANTIQUITIES— HISTORY-ETHNOLOGY . 



Kew- York, January 1th, 1846. 
Sir : — I have now the honor to submit a supplementary report, 
embracing minutes and remarks on the aboriginal history, antiquities 
and general ethnology of western New-York, made in accordance 
with an expression permitting the collection of such materials in your 
general instructions of the 25lh of June last. 

To these details I have prefixed some general considerations on 
the early period of the Iroquois history, the affinities of the several 
tribes, and the era and principles of their confederation ; the anti- 
quarian remains and general archaeology of the western counties ; 
the ancient state of Indian art ; some traits of their traditions and 
religion ; and a few connected topics which, it is hoped, will tend to 
render the report more acceptable and valuable. 

I regret, indeed, that time has not permitted me to enter more fully 
on some of the topics introduced, and that of others, I have been 
obliged to cut them short or omit them altogether, including the sub- 
ject of their languages, geographical terminology, and personal names, 
the latter of which is a very curious inquiry in itself. I confess 
it would have fallen in with my inclinations, as well as my concep- 



22 [Senate 

tions of the true nature and extent of the inquiries confided to me, 
to have extended them to other parts of the State, and given a more 
complete view of our ethnology, had it been practicable to do so 
before the meeting of the Legislature. 

I cannot, however, close this note without expressing the hope that 
the Legislature will authorize you to take further measures for com- 
pleting the work. There are a large number of the class of antique, 
circular and elliptical works scattered over the western and south- 
western part of the State, of an age anterior to the discovery, which 
it would be important to examine and describe. These chiefly lie 
west of Cayuga, and upon the sources of the Susquehanna. Inter- 
spersed amid this system of common ring-forts of the west there are 
some of a still earlier period, which exhibit squares and parallelo- 
grams, yet without any defensive work in the nature of bastions. 

The area of early French occupancy, or attempt at colonization, 
within the Slate, extends east and west, between the waters of the 
Cayuga and Oneida lakes, as general boundaries, having the county 
of Onondaga as its chief and central point. This area will compre- 
hend the most striking part of the numerous remains of implements 
of art and other antiquities of European origin, which have hereto- 
fore excited attention. How far these evidences extend north is not 
known. But any examination of either the aboriginal or foreign 
remains would be incomplete which did not extend also along the 
line of the St. Lawrence and the waters of Lake Champlain. 

The valley of the Hudson, and the southern part of the State gene- 
rally, although it has not been explored with this view, is known to 
have some antiquarian features worthy examination. And were there 
none others than the artificial shell mounds and beds on the sea 
coast, and the fossil bones of the valley, so remarkable in themselves, 
these would alone be entitled to the highest interest in studying the 
ancient history of the races of man in this area. 

Geological action subsequent to the period of the habitation of the 
globe, has not been examined with this view, but is believed to be 
important in denoting eras of former occupancy ; it is known that 
various parts of the State have yielded, at considerable depths below 
the surface, many curious evidences of artificial remains, along with 
relics of the animal and vegetable kingdoms. 



No. 24. J 23 

There is an apparent extension of the system of works which 
characterize the fort and mound period of tlu> Ohio valley, reaching 
from the Alleghany waters in Chautauque and Cattaraugus, along the 
southern shore of Lake Erie, indefinitely eastward, which it would 
be interesting to trace. 

One of the most reliable proofs of eras and races of men is found 
in the remains of art. 

There arc some striking coincidences in this respect between the 
antiquities of New- York and the Mississippi valley, which denote 
precisely the same state of arts and the same eras of occupancy. 
Such are the Minace Alleghanic which occurs alike in the Grave 
Creek mound and the simple places of sepulture in Onondaga, the 
Nabikoaguna Antique, which has been found at Upper Sandusky 
and at Onondaga ; and the Medaeka Missouric, from the valley of the 
Sciota, in Ohio, and the Kasonda, in New-York. 

Accurate descriptions of the whole class of our antiquarian 
remains could not, if thoroughly executed, but throw much light on, 
and introduce precision in, periods of remote history in this State, and 
indeed the continent, which are now either involved in obscurity, or 
constitute themes of mere conjecture. 



I. HISTORICAL AND ETHNOLOGICAL MINUTES. 

HADE ON TAKING THE CENSUS OF THE IROQUOIS OF NEW-YORK, IN COU' 
FORMITV WITH AN ACT OF THE LEGISLATURE, IN 1845. 



[a.] A Sketch of the Iroquois Groupe of Aboriginal Tribes. 

On the fliscovcry of North America, the Iroquois tribes, were found 
seated chiefly in the -wide and fertile territory of western and northern 
New-York, reaching west to the sources of the Oiiio ;* north, to the 
banks of Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence ; and east, to the 
site of Albany, They had as much nationality of character, then, as 
any of the populous tribes, who, in the 4th century wandered over 
central and western Europe. They were^ in a high degree, warlike, 
handling the bow and arrow with the skill and dexterity of the ancient 
Thracians and Parthians. They were confederated in peace and war, 
and had begun to lay the foundations of a power, against which, the 
surrounding nations, in the Mississippi valley, and along the St. Law- 
rence, the Hudson, and the Delaware, could not stand. The French, 
when they eflfectually entered the St. Lawrence in 1608,1 courted 
their alliance on the north, and the Dutch did the same in 1609, on 
the Hudson. Virginia had been apprised of their power, at an early 
day, and the other English colonies, as they arrived, were soon made 
acquainted with the existence of this native confederacy in the north. 

• They always denominated the Alleghany river by the name of Ohio. This I found 
o be the terra constantly used for that river in 1815. They give tho vowel i, in this word, 
he sound of i, in machine. 

t They actually discovered this river, in J535. 

[Senate, No. 24.] 4 



^^ * fSENATZ: 

Sj pcif tin^ fire-arms into their hands, they doubled the aboriginal 
power, and became themselves, for more than a century ;r dependant 
on their caprice or friendship. 

The word Iroquois, as we are told by Charlevoix, who is a compe- 
tent and reliable witness on this point, is founded on an exclamation^, 
or response, made by the sachems and warriors, on the delivery to 
them, of an address. This response, as heard among the Senecas, it 
appeared to me, might be written eoh ; perhaps, the Mohawks, and' 
other harsher dialects of this family, threw in an r, between the 
vowels. It is recorded in the term Iroquois, on French principles of 
annotation, with the substantive inflection in ois, which is character- 
istic of French lexicography. It is a term which has been long, and 
extensively used, both for the language and the history of this people j 
and is preferable, on enlarged considerations, to any other. The- 
term Five Nations, used by Colden, and in popular use during the 
earlifirr period of the colony, ceased to be appropriate after the Tusca- 
rora revolt in North Carolina, and the reunion of this tribe with the 
parent stock, subsequent to 1712. From that period they were call- 
ed the Six Nations,* and continued to acquire inceased reputation as 
a confederacy, under this name, until the termination of the American 
Revolution in 1783, and the flight of the Mohawks and Cayugas to 
Canada, when this partial separation and breaking up of the confede- 
racy, rendered it no longer applicable. 

The term New-York Ijjdians, applied to them in modern daysy 
by the eminence in their position, is liable to be confounded, by the 
common reader, with the names of several tribes of the generic Al- 
gonquin family, who formerly occupied the southern part of the 
State, down to the Atlantic. Some of these tribes lived in the westj 
and owned and occupied lands, among the Iroquois, until v/ithin a 
few years. And, at any rate, it is too vague and imprecise a term 
to be employed in philology or history. 

By the people themselves, however, neither the first nor the last of 
the foregoing terms appear ever to have been adopted, nor are they 
now used. They have no word to signify " New-York" in a sense 
more specfiic, than as the territory possessed by themselves — a claim 

• In 1723, they adopted the Necabiages, a» a Seventh Nation, as will be noticed ander 
the appropriate head. 



No. 24.1 ^ 

which they were certainly justified in makintv, at the era of thre 5rs- 
•CO very, •when they are adnaitted, on all hands, to have carried their 
•conquests to the sea. 

The terra Ongwe Honwe, or a people surpassing all olherS) which 
Coklen was informed they applied proudly to themselves, may be 
strictly true, if" limited, as they did, to mean a people surpassing all 
other red men. This they believed-, and this was the sense in which 
they boastfully applied it. But it v;as a terra older than the disco- 
very, and had no reference to European races. The word /iowtuc, as 
-Aill appear by the vocabulary hereto appended, means man. By the 
prefixed terra Ongwe, it is qualified according to various interpreta- 
tions, to mean real, as cx)ntradistinguished from sham men, or cowards; 
it may also mean strong, wise, or expert men, and, by ellipsis, men 
excelling others in manliness. But it was in no other sense distinct- 
tiveof them. It was the common term for the red race of this con- 
tinent, which they would appear, by the phrase, to acknowledge as a 
unity, and is, the word as I found it, used at this day, as the equiva- 
lent for our term " Indian," 

Each tribe had, at some period of their progress, a distinctive ap- 
pellation, as Onondaga, Oneida, <fec. of which some traditionary 
matter will be slated, further on. When they came io confederate, 
and form a general council, they took the name of Konoshioni, (or 
as the French authors write it, Acquinoshioni)^ meaning literally, 
People of the Long House, and figuratively a United People, a 
terra by which they still denominate themselves, when speaking in a 
national sense. This distinction, it is well to bear in mind, and not 
confound. This Long House, to employ their own figure, extended 
east and west from the present site of Albany to the foot of the great 
lakes, a distance, by modern admeasurement, of 325 miles, which is 
now traversed by railroad. An air palace, we may grant them, hav- 
ing beams and rafters, higher and longer than any pile of regal mag- 
nificence, yet reared by human hands. 

Thus much may be said, with certainty, of the name of this cele- 
brated family of red men, by which they are identified and distin- 
guished from other stocks of the hunter tribes of North America. 
Where they originated, relatively to their position on this continent, 
the progress of ethnology does not, at this incipient period of that 



2S [Senatk 

science, enable us to determine, nor is it proposed, save with the 
merest brevity, no-.v to inquire. Veiling their own origin, if an- 
ciintly known, in allegory, or designing by fancy to supply the utter 
want of early history, to the intent, perhaps, that they might put 
forth an undisputed title to the country they occupied, the relations 
of their ohl sages affirm that they originated in the territorial area 
of western New- York. Their tradition on this point, as put on re- 
cord by the pen of one of iheir own people, (see extracts from Cu- 
sic's historical and traditionary tract, hereto appended,) fixes the 
locality of their actual origin at an eminence near the falls of the 
Oswego river. To cut short the narration, they assert that their an- 
cestors were called forth, from the bowels of a mountain, by Tare- 
NYAWAGON, the Holder of the Heavens. It represents them as one 
people, who moved first towards the east, as far as the sea, and 
then fell back, partly on their own tracks, towards the west and 
southwest. So far, and so far only, the tale appears credible encugh, 
and as there is no chronology established by it, although dales are 
freely introduced, and consequently nothing to contradict it, their 
track of migration and countermigration from the Oswego, may be 
deemed as probable. 

The diversities of language, and the separation into tribes, are 
represented to have taken place, according to known principles of 
ethnological inference. 

Ondiyaka, an Onondaga sage, and the ruling chief of, the confed- 
eracy, who died on an official visit to the Oneidas in 1839, at the age 
of ninety, confirmed these general traditions of the Tuscarora scribe. 
He informed Le Fort, who was with him in that journey and at his 
death, that the Onondagas were created by Neo,* in the country where 
they lived ; that he made this island or continent, " Hawoneo," for 
the red race, and meant it for them alone. He did not allude to or 
acknowledge any migration from other lands. This, Le Fort, him- 
self an Onondaga, a chief, and an educated man, told me during 
the several interviews I had with him, the present year, at the Onon- 
daga Castle. 



• Tlie term " Neo," God, is generally used reverently, with a syllable prefixed in the 
different Iroquois dialects, as Yawa-Neo, in the Tuscarora, Howai-Neo in the Seneca, 
Hawai-Neo, Onondaga, Lawai-Neo, Mohawk, &.C. 



No. 24.] 29 

Ondiyaka proceeded to say, as they walked over the ancient ruins 
in the valley of the Kasonda,* that this was the spot where the 
Ononilagas formerly lived, before they fixed themselves in the Onon- 
daga valley, and before they had entered into confederation. In 
those days they were at enmity with each other ; they raistil the old 
forts to defend themselves. They wandered about a great deal. 
They frequently changed their places of residence. They lived in 
perpetual fear. They kept fighting, and moving their villages often. 
This reduced their numbers, and rendered their condition one of 
ahums and trials. Sometimes they abandoned a village, and all 
their gardens and clearings, because they had encountered much sick- 
ness, and believed the place to be doomed. They were always ready 
to hope for better luck in a new S})ot. At length they confederated, 
and then their fortifications were no longer necessary, and fell into 
decay. This, he believed, was the origin of these old ruins, which 
were not of foreign construction.! Before the confederacy, they had 
been not only at war among themselves, but had been driven by other 
enemies.! After it, they carried their wars out of their own coun- 
try, and began to bring home prisoners. Their plan was to select 
for adoption from the prisoners, and captives, and fragments of 
tribes whom they conquered. These captives were equally divided 
among each of the tribes, were adopted and incorporated with them, 
and served to make good their losses. They used the term, We- 
HAiT-wAT-SHA, in relation to these captives. This term means a 
body cut into parts and scattered around. In this manner, they 
figuratively scattered their prisoners, and sunk and destroyed their 
nationality, and built up their own. 

At what period they confederated, we have no exact means of de- 
ciding. Itappears to have been comparatively recent, judging from 
traditionary testimony. § While their advancement in the economy 
of living, in arms, in diplomacy and in civil polity, would lead con 
jecture to a more remote date. Their own legends, like those of 



• Butternut Creclf, whicti runs through parts of the towns of Pompey, Lafayette and 
De Witt, Onondaga county. 

t This remark must be considered as applied only to the class of simple rin^ forts, so 
frequent in western New-York. These forls are proved by antiquarian remains, forest 
growth, &c. to be the most ancient of any works, in Oaondaja county, in the shape of 
forts. 

X Colden represents them as ilriven by the Algonquin*, on the discovery of Caruulsu 

6 Vide Pvrlaus. 



30 [Senate 

some other leading stocks of the continent, carry them back to a 
period of wars with giants and demons and monsters of the sea, the 
land, and the air, and are fraught with strange and grotesque fancies 
of wizards and enchanters. But history, guiding the pen of the 
French Jesuit, describes them first as pouring in their canoes through 
the myriad streams that interlace in w^estern New-York, and debouch- 
ing, now on the gulf of the St. Lawrence, now on the Chesapeake — 
glancing again over the waves of Michigan, and now again plying 
their paddles in the waters of the turbid Mississippi. Wherever 
they went, they carried proofs of their energy, courage, and enter- 
prise. 

At one period we hear the sound of their war cry, along the straits 
of the St. Mary's and at the foot of Lake Superior. At another un- 
der the walls of Quebec, where they finally defeated the Hurons un- 
der the eyes of the French. They put out the fires of the Guhkwas 
and Eries. They eradicated the Susquehannocks. They placed the 
Lenapees, the Nant.cokes, and the Munsees under the yoke of sub- 
jection. They put the Metoacks and the Manhattans under tribute. 
They spread the terror of their arms over all New-England. 

They traversed the whole length of the Appalachian chain, and 
descended like the enraged Yagisho and Megalonyx, on the Chero- 
kees and the Catawbas. Smith encountered their warriors, in the 
settlement of Virginia, and La Salle on the discovery of the Illinois. 
Nations trembled when they heard the name of the Konoshioni. 

They possessed a fine physical structure — they lived in a climate 
which imparted energy to their motions. They used a sonorous and 
commanding language, which had its dual number, and its neuter, 
masculine, and. feminine genders. They were excellent natural ora- 
tors, and expert diplomatists. They began early to cherish a na- 
tional pride, which grew w'iih their conquests. They had, like the 
Algonquins, in the organization of the several clans, or families, 
which composed each tribe, a curious heraldic tie, founded on origi- 
nal relationship, which exercised a strong influence, but which has 
never been satisfactorily explained. They were governed by here- 
ditary chieftaincies, like others of the aboriginal stocks, but contrary 
to the usage of these other stocks, the claims of their chiefs, were sub- 
jected to the decision of a national council. The aristocratic and 



No. 24. J 31 

democratic principles, were thus both brought into requisition, in 
canflidates for office. J3ut in all that constituted national action, they 
were a pure Republic. So far was this carried, that it is believed the 
veto of any one chief, to a public measure, was sufficient to arrest its 
adoption by the Council. 

In the development of their nationality, they have produced several 
men of energy and ability, who were equal, in natural force of cha- 
racter, to some of the most shining warriors and orators of antiquity. 
Few war captains have exceeded Hendrick, Brant or Skenandoah. 
The eloquence and force of Garangula, Logan and Red Jacket, in 
their public speeches, have commanded universal admiration. Mr. 
Jefferson considered the appeal of Logan to the white race, after the 
extirpation of his family, as without a parallel ; and it has been imi- 
tated in vain, by distinguished poets and orators. 

Such were the aboriginal people who occupied western New-York, 
ami their memory will forever live in the significant names which 
they have bestowed upon Niagara and Ontario, and a thousand lesser 
waters, which beautify and adorn the land. Viewed as one of the 
Indo-Ameiican stocks, they possessed some very striking traits. 

Few barbarous nations have ever existed on the globe, who have 
shown more native energy, and distinctiveness of character. Siill 
fewer who have evinced so firm a devotion to the spirit of indepen- 
dence. Yet all their native manliness and energy of character and 
action, would have failed, or become inoperative, had they not aban- 
doned the fatal Indian principle of tribal supremacy, or independent 
chieftainships, and made common cause in a national confederacy. 
The moment this was done, and each of the component clans or tribes, 
had surrendered the power of sovereignty to a general council of the 
whole, the foundation for their rise was laid, and they soon became 
the most powerful political body among the native tribes of North 
America, this side of the palace of Montezuma. 

In visiting the descendants of such a people, after a lapse of more 
than two centuries and a quarter from the discovery, it was the im- 
pulse of the commonest interest, to make some inquiries into their for- 
mer history, and antiquities. These have been pursued under favor- 
able circumstances, for the most part, at all points of my journey, and 



32 [Senate 

have been resumed, when broken ofif, whenever practical. The only 
method pursued, was to obtain all the facts possible, from red or 
white men, of reliable testimony. There was no time and no inten- 
tion, to digest them, into a connected history. They were collected 
in the pauses which intervened, in the obtaining of the stalistics of 
the census, and they are contributed herewith, in the simple garb 
and freshness of the original minutes. Those who related the tradi- 
tions, did not suppose themselves to be delivering the important lore 
of their history. They were related, along the road, or seated around 
the evening circle, as the current belief of the people. Sometimes 
the fields or hills, disclosing the localities of old forts, were the scene 
of the narrations ; sometimes the Indian burial ground ; sometimes 
more formal interviews. He who gleans popular traditions among 
this race, must have his ear ever open, his memory under notice " to 
retain," and his pen or pencil ever ready. — 

Historical and biographical notices, names of places, and sketches 
of antiquarian remains, were thus entered on or dropped, as time or 
occasion prompted. To make minutes of what occurred, was all that 
time permitted me ; but it was a rule, to make them promptlv and 
on the spot. This much seemed necessary in despatching this por- 
tion of my report, with the miscellaneous details accompanying it; 
and having accomplished this object, my present task is terminated. 



No. 24s] 33 



[b.] Ethnological Suggestions. 

Where we have nothing else to rely upon, we may receive the 
rudest traditions of an Indian nation, although they be regarded as 
mere historical phenomena, or materials to be considered. Whether 
such materials are to be credited or disbelieved wholly, or in part, is 
quite another thing. Our Indians, like some of the ancient nations 
of Asia, whom they resemble in many points of character, were prone 
to refer their origin to myths and legends, under which they doubt- 
less, sometimes meant to represent truths, or at least, to express 
opinions. The Indian tribes, very much like their ancient prototypes 
of the old world, seemed to have felt a necessity for inventing some 
story of their origin, where it is sometimes probable there was little 
or nothing of actual tradition to build it upon. They were manifestly 
under a kind of self-reproach, to reflect that they had indeed no 
history ; nothing to connect their descent from prior races ; and if 
they have not proved themselves men of much judgment in their 
attempts to supply the deficiency in their fabrications and allegories, 
they must often come in, it must be confessed, for no little share of 
imagination. 

There appears, throughout the whole race, to be the vestiges of a 
tradition of the creation and the deluge, two great and striking points 
in the history of man, which, however he wandered, he would be 
most likely to remember. They uniformly attribute their origin to a 
superior and divine power. They do not suppose that they came 
into existence without the act of this pre-existing almighty power, 
who is called Neo, or Owaneo. This is the third great and leading 
point in their traditions. And these three primary vestiges of the 
original history of the race are to be found among the rudest tribes, 
between the straits of Terra del Fuego and the Arctic Ocean, not- 
withstanding the amount of grotesque and puerile matter which serves 
as the vehicle of the traditions. 

Between the creation and the deluge and tlie present era of the 

world, there is nearly an entire blank. Ages have dropped out of 

their memory, with all their stirring incidents of wars and migrations, 

and the first reliable truth we hear is, that at such a time they lived 

[Senate, No. 24.] 5 



34 [Senatk 

on the banks of the Mississippi, the Ohio, the Lakes, or the St. Law- 
rence, &c. Nothing but this kind of proximate origin could indeed 
be expected to be retained. They acknowledge relationship to no 
prior race of man. We see that they are sui generis with, and much 
resemble some of the eastern nations in color and features. Physio- 
logists have never been able to detect a bone or muscle, more or less, 
than the Caucassian race possess. Philologists listen to their speech 
and admit that in one tribe or another they possess all the powers of 
articulate utterance known to that race. We know by this kind of 
evidence, physical and moral, that they are a branch of the original 
Adamic stock, without reference to the pages of revelation, where 
we learn the same truth, and are told in so many words, that "God 
out of one flesh, formed all men." And we must perforce infer, that 
the Indian race is of foreign origin, and must have crossed an oceaD 
to reach the continent. 

Ask not the red sage to tell you how ? or when ? or where 1 
He knows it not, and if he should pretend to the knowledge, it would 
be the surest possible evidence, philosophically considered, that his 
responses were fabulous. Three hundred and fifty-three years only 
has America been known to Europe, and yet should we strike our 
history out of existence, what should we know of the leading facts 
of the discovery and the discoverer from Indian tradition '? Still 
the inquisitive spirit of research leads us to ask, where were this 
race eighteen hundred and forty-five years ago 1 or at the invasion of 
Britain by Julius Csesar ? or at the outpouring of the Gothic hordes 
under Alaric or Brennus ? Scandinavifn research tells us they w^ere 
here in the lOth century. The Mexican picture writings inform us 
that some of them reached the valley of Mexico in the 11th century. 
Welsh history claims to have sent one of her princes among them in 
the 12th century. The mounds of the Mississippi valley do not ap- 
pear to have had an origin much earlier. The whole range of even 
historical conjecture is absolutely limited within eight or nine hun- 
dred years. Nothing older, of their presence here certainly, is known, 
than about the time of the crowning of Charlemagne, A. D. 800, 
unless we take the Grecian tradition of Atalantis. 

That we have nothing in the way of tradition older than the dates 
referred to, is no positive proof that the tribes were not upon the 
continent long prior. There are some considerations, in the very 



No. 24. J 35 

nature of the case, which argue u remote continental antiquity for 
thesctribes. It is hardly to be supposed that large numbers of the 
primitive adventurers landed at any one time or place ; nor is it more 
probable that the epochs of these early adventurers were very nume- 
rous. The absolute conformity of physical features renders this im- 
probable. The early migrations must have been necessarily confined 
to portions of the old world peopled by the Red Race — by a race, 
not only of red skins, black hair and eyes, and high cheek bones, 
who would reproduce these fixed characteristics, nd infinitum^ but 
whose whole mental as well as physiological development assimilates 
it, as a distinct unity of the species. While physiology, however, 
asserts this unity, in the course of the dispersion and multiplication 
of tribes, their languages, granting all that can be asked for on the 
score of original diversity, became divided into an infinite number of 
dialects and tongues. Between these dialects, however, where they 
are even the most diverse, there is a singular coincidence in many of 
the leading principles of concord and regimen, and polysynthetic ar- 
rangement. Such diversities in sound, amounting, as they do in 
many cases, for instance, in the stocks of the Algonquin and Iroquois, 
to an almost total difference, must have required many ages for their 
production. And this fact alor.e affords a proof of the continental 
antiquity of the American race. 



36 f Senate 



[c] Indian Cosmogony. 

Ohigin or THB Continent, of thk Animal Creation, and of the Indian 
Race : The introduction of the two principles of Good and Evil into 

THE government OF THE WORLD. 

Iroquois tradition opens with the notion that there were originally 
two worlds, or regions of space, namely, an upper and lower world. 
The upper was inhabited by beings similar to the human race ; the 
lower by monsters, moving in the waters. When the human spe- 
cies were transferred below, and the lower sphere was about to be 
rendered fit for their residence, the act of their transference or repro- 
duction is concentrated in the idea of a female, who began to de- 
scend into the lower world, which is depicted as a region of dark- 
ness, waters and monsters, She was received on the back of a 
tortoise, where she gave birth to male twins, and expired. The 
shell of this tortoise expanded into the continent, which, in their 
phraseology, is called an " island ;" and is named by the Ononda- 
gas, AONAO. One of the infants was called Inigorio, or the 
Good Mind ; the other, Inigohatea, or the Bad Mind. These 
two antagonistical principles, which are such perfect counterparts of 
the Orrausd and Abriman of the Zoroaster, were at perpetual vari- 
ance, it being the law of one to counteract whatever the other did. 
They were not, however, men, but gods, or existences, through 
whom the " Great Spirit," or " Holder of the Heavens," carried out 
his purposes. The first labor of Inigorio was to create the sun out 
of the head of his dead mother, and the moon and the stars out of 
other parts of the body. The light these gave, drove the monsters 
into deep water, to hide themselves. He then prepared the surface 
of the continent, and fitted it for human habitation, by diversify- 
ing it with creeks, rivers, lakes and plains, and by filling these with 
the various species of the animal and vegetable kingdoms. He then 
formed a man and woman out of earth, gave them life, and called 
them '' Ea-gwe-ho-we," or, as it is more generally known to Indian 
archaeologists, Ong-we-Hon-we ; that is to say, a real people. [D.] 

Meanwhile the Bad Mind created mountains, waterfalls, and steeps 
and morasses, reptiles, serpents, apes, and other objects supposed to be 



No. 24. 1 37 

injurious to, or in mockery of mankind. He made attempts also to 
conceal the land animals in the ground, so as to deprive man of the 
means of subsistence. This continued opposition to the "wishes of 
the Good Mind, who was perpetually busied in restoring the effects 
of the displacements and wicked devices of the other, at length led 
to a personal combat, of which the time and instruments of battle 
were agreed on. They fought for two days, the one using deer"'s 
horns, and the other flag roots, as arms.* Inigorio, who had chosen 
horns, finally prevailed ; his antagonist sunk down to a region of 
darkness, and became the Evil Spirit, or Kluneolux,t of the world 
of despair. Inigorio, having obtained this triumph, retired from 
the earih. 

This piece of ingenuity, or philosophy of the Indian mind, much 
of which is pure allegory, under which truths are hid, stands in the 
remote vista of Iroquois tradition, and it seemed necessary to notice 
it, in preparing to take up their more sober traditions. It is picked out 
of a mass of incongruous details, published by a native, [see App. D.] 
which only serve, peradventure, to denote ils genuineness, for di- 
vested of absurdity, in the original, we should not ascribe much 
antiquity to it, or be prone to attribute it to an ignorant, supersti- 
tious, pagan people, living in all their earlier times without arts, let- 
ters or civilization. Futile as it is, it will be found veritable philo- 
sophy, compared with most of the earlier theories of the renowned 
nations of antiquity. Take, as an instance, the account Sanconea- 
thus gives of the theology of the Phoenicians. J 

• By reference to the Algonquin story of the combat between Manabozho and his fa- 
ther, the West Wind, as given in Algic Researches, vol 1, p. 134, it will be seen tliat 
the weapons chosen by the parties were the same as those employed by Inigorio and 
Inigohatca, namely, deer's horns and flag roots. 

t Oneida. 

t Gowan's Ancient Fragments, 1 vol. 8vo., N. Y,, 1835. 



38 [Senate 



[d.] Gleams of their General Ancient History. 

Items : Indians claim to be the ofifspring of an independent act of creation. The 
Iroquois name themselves in proud allusion to their supposed supremacj'. Tri.es on the 
St. Lawrence and the lakes live in disputes. War with a race of giants called Ronon- 
gweca : the fiend Shotrowea,--contests with the great Kwiss Kwiss, or Mastodon,— the Big 
Elk,— and the Horned Serpent. A meteor falls in the camp. Northern tribes confederate ; 
send an unfortunate embassage to a great chief south,— war with him,— war with each 
other, and the country thereby depopulated and left to its original desolation. 

When we come to draw the minds of the sages and chroniclers of 
the Iroquois cantons, to the facts of their early history and origin, 
they treat us with legendary fables, and myths of gods and men, and 
changes and freaks in elementary matter, which indicate that such 
ideas, were common to their progenitors, whatever part of the world 
they occupied. We have adverted to their notions on this head, in 
the preceding remarks on their cosmogony, tinctured, as it strongly 
is, M'ith the old Persian philosophy. 



They deny, as do all the tribes, a foreign origin. They assert, that 
America, or AONAO, was the place of their origin. They begin by 
laying down the theory, that they were the peculiar care of the 
Supernal Power who created all things, and who, as a proof of his 
care and benevolence of a race whom he had marked by a distinct 
color, created the continent for their especial use, and placed them 
upon it. None of the tribes pretend to establish dates, nor have they 
any astronomical data, to fix them. But they all give to the story of 
their origin, or creation, a locality, which is generally fixed to some 
prominent geographical feature near to their present respective place 
of abode, or at least, a spot well known. This spot, among the 
Iroquois cantons, is located in the northern hemisphere. 

The term, Ongwe Honwe, is used by these tribes, very much in 
the manner in which the ancient Teutons called themselves, Alla- 
manna, or Ghermanna, from which we have the modern terms, Alle- 
raand and German. If they did not litterally call themselves " all- 
men," as did these proud tribes, they implied as much, in a term 
whichis interpreted to mean, real men, or a people surpassing all others. 
It is the common term for the red race, as contradistinguished from 
all other races, and the true equivalent of Ihe phrase, " Indian." 



No. 24.J 39 

By their earliest traditions, we are told that a body of the On^'C 
Honwe, encamped on the banks of the St. Lawrence, where they 
■were invadeil by a nation few in number, but of giant stature, called 
Ronongweca.* After a war, brought on by personal encounters and 
incidents, and carried on with perfidy and cruelty, they were delivered 
at length, by the skill and courage of Yatontea, * who, after retreating 
before them, raised a large body of men and defeated them, after 
which they were supposed to be extinct. They next suffered from 
the malice, perfidy, and lust of an extraodinary person called Shot- 
rowea,* who was finally driven across the St. Lawrence, and came to 
a town south of the shores of lake Ontario, where, however, he only 
disguised his intentions, to repeat his cruel and perfidious deeds. 
This person, who assassinated many persons, and violated six virgins, 
they point to as a fiend in human shape. 

At this time the Big Quisquisf invaded the country, who pushed 
down the houses of the people, and created great consternation and 
disturbance. After making ineffectual resistance, they fled, but were 
at length relieved by a brave chief, who raised a body of men to 
battle him, but the animal himself retired. In this age of monsters, 
their country was invaded by another monster called the " Big Elk," 
who was furious against men,| and destroyed the lives of many per- 
sons, but he was at length killed after a severe contest. 

A great horned serpent next appeared on Lake Ontario, who, by 
means of his poisonous breath, produced diseases, and caused the 
death of many, but he was at last compelled to retire by thunder- 
bolts. This fourth calamity was not forgotten, when a fifth happened. 
A blazing star fell into a fort situated on the banks of the St. Lawrence, 
and destroyed the people. Such a phenomenon caused great panic and 
dread, and they regarded it as ominous of their entire destruction. Prior 
to this, a confederation had taken place among these northern tribes, 
situated north of and along the banks of the great lakes, and they 
had a ruling chief over all. This ruler repaired to the south to visit 
a ruler of great fame and authority, who resided at a great town in 



• I abreviate these words from the originals, for the sole purpose of making them 
readable to the ordinary reader, 
t Kwis Kwis is the name of a hog in nimiem Iroquois. 
X Carnivorous — but this is not a characteristic of the Elk. 



40 j Senate 

A Lodge of Gold. But it only proved to be an embassy of folly, 
for this great ruler, exercising an imperial sway, availing himself of 
the information thus derived, of a great country full of resources, 
built many forts throughout the country, and almost penetrated to 
the banks of Lake Erie. The people who had confederated on the 
North resisted. A long war of a hundred years standing ensued, 
but the northern people were belter skilled in the use of the bow and 
arrow, and were more expert woodsmen and warriors. They at 
length prevailed, and taking all these towns and forts, left them a 
heap of ruins. 

But the prediction of the blazing star was now verified. The tribes 
who were held together by feeble bands, fell into disputes, and wars 
among themselves, which were pursued through a long period, until 
they utterly destroyed each other, and so reduced their numbers, that 
the land was again overrun by wild beasts. [D.J 



No. 24.) 4) 



n. ORIGIN AND inSTORY OF THE mOQUOIS, AS A DISTINCT 

PEOPLE. 



The first period of Indian history having thus terminated in dis- 
cords, wars, and the mutual destruction of each other, tradition does 
not denote how long the depopulation of the country continued. It 
begins a second period by recollections of the Konoshioni, or Iro- 
quois. They do not indicate what relation they bear to the ancient, 
broken down confederacy glanced at, in the preceding paper ; but 
leave us to suppose that they may have been fragmentary descend- 
ants of it. That such a conclusion should not be formed, however, 
•ind in order to prove themselves an original people in the land, they 
frame a new myth, to begin their national existence. They boldly 
vissert, that they were, through some means, confined in a mountain, 
from whose subterraneous bowels they were extricated by Taryen- 
yawaeon, the Holder of the Heavens. They point to a place at or 
near the falls of the Oswego river, where this deliverance happened, 
and they look to this divine messenger, who could assume various 
shapes, as the friend and patron of their nation.* 

As soon as they were released, he gave them instructions respect- 
ing the mode of hunting, matrimony, worship, and other points> 
He warned them against the Evil Spirit, and gave them corn, beans, 
squashes, potatoes and tobacco, and dogs to hunt their game. He 
bid them go towards the east, an 1 personally guided them, until they 
entered a valley called Tenonanatchi, or the Mohawk. They followed 
this stream to its entrance into the Sanatatea, or, as called by tiie 
Mohawks, Kohatatea, which they pursued to the sea. 



• Where the Indians dwelt for a long time, it is customary for them to afTirm in their 
metaphorical lan^a^e, that they originated, or were created. Wlien tlicy date from 
such a spot, we find they frame a story, saying that they came out of a hill, Uc. at that 
spot. In 1791, an extensive work, consisting of ditches, &c. was found about 40 miles 
south of Oswego, which is not remote from the probable place of origin their traditions 
refer to; and it may be worthy of examination with this particular view. S.inie account 
of this old fort appeared in the N. Y. Mag. ITftJ. 

[Senate, No. 24.] 6 



42 [Senate 

From this point they retraced their steps towards the west, origi- 
nating as they went, in their order and position, the Mohawks, the 
Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayug'is, and the Senecas. They do 
not omit the Tuscaroras, whom they acknowledged, after a long 
period of wandering and a considerable change of language, and 
admitted as the Sixth tribe of the confederacy. 

The Tuscaroras affirm, that, after reaching the lake waters, they 
turned southwest, to the Mississippi river, where a f/art of them: 
crossed on a grape vine, but it broke, leaving the remainder east. 
Those who went west, have been lost and forgotten from their me- 
mory.. The remainder, or eastern Tuscaroras, continued their wan- 
derings, hunting, and wars, until they had crossed the Alleghanies anif 
reached the sea again, at the mouth of the Cautoh, or Neus river, iri 
North Carolina. 

Each tribe was independent uf the others. They increased in 
numbers, valor and skill, and in all sorts of knowledge necessary ir^ 
the forest. But they began to fight and quarrel among themselvesy 
and thus wasted and destroyed each other. They lived a life of per- 
petual fear and built forts to defend themselves, or to- protect their 
women and children. Besides this, the country was wide and covered 
with large forests and lakes, and it gave shelter to many fierce wild 
animals and monsters, who beset their paths and kept them in dread. 
The evil spirit also plagued them with monstrous visitations. They 
were often induced to change their villages, sometimes from the fear 
of such enemies, and sometimes from sickness or bad luck. In this 
manner, and owing to their perpetual hostility, their population was 
often reduced. How long they wandered and warred, they do not 
know. At length it was proposed by some wise man that they 
should no longer fight against each other, but unite their strength 
against their enemies, the Alleghans, the Adiriondacks, the Eries, and 
other ancient and once powerful tribes, who figure in the foreground 
of their early history, and who, if accounts be true, once greatly ex- 
celled them both in war and arts, the skill of making implements, 
canoes and utensils, &c. 

To this league, which was formed on the banks of Onondaga lake, 
they in time, gave the name of the Long House, using the term symbo- 



jSo. 24.] 43 

lically, to denote that they were tied and braced^together by blood 
and lineage, as well as political bonds. This house, agreeably to 
the allusion so often made by their speakers, during our colonial 
history, reached from the banks of the Hudson to the Lakes. At its 
eastern door stood the Mohawks, at the west the Senecas, wlio 
guarded it with vigilance. 



[a.\ The Mohawks. 

The Mohawks are supposed to be the eldest brother, in the sym- 
bolical chain of the Six Nations. Their own tradition assigns them 
this rank, and it appears to be consonant to other traditions. 

When Tarenyawagon, their liberator from their subterranean con- 
finement, bid tliein travel east, he gave them his personal conduct 
and care until they had entered the Mohawk valley. Some of their 
western brethren call this stream Tenonanatche, or a river flowing 
through a mountain. In due time, they went on into the valley of 
the Hudson, and thence, if we credit their annals, to the sea. The 
seat of their power and growth was, however, in the genial valley 
where they had at first located. Here they lived when the country 
was discovered, and here they continued to live and flourish until the 
events of the American revolution, and tlie determined cruelty -which 
they exercised, under the authority and influence of the British 
crown, drove them out of it, and lost them the inheritance. 

It does not appear, from any thing history or tradition tells us, 
or from any monumental remains in the valley or its immediate vi- 
cinity, that it had before been occupied by other nations. They do 
not speak of having driven out or conquered any other tribe. There 
are no old forts or earthen walls, or other traces of military or de- 
fensive occupancy, of which we have heard. Their ramparts were 
rather their own brawny arms, stout bodies and brave hearts. From 
the earliest notices of them, they were renowned for wielding the 
war club and arrow with great dexterity. They raised corn on the 
rich intervales, and pursued the deer, bear and elk in the subjacent 
forests. Tlieir dominion extended from the head waters of the Sus- 



44 [Senate 

quehanna and Delaware to Lake Champlain. They had pursued 
their forays into the territorial area of New-England, as far, at least, 
as the central portions of the Connecticut, and had made their power 
felt, as temporary invaders, among the small independent tribes who 
lived about the region of the present city and harbor of New- York. 
"Wherever they went, they carried terror. Their very name, as we 
learn from Golden, was a synonyme for cruelty and dread.* No- 
tribe, perhaps, on the continent, produced better warriors, or have 
ever more fully realized, as a nation^ the highest measure of heroisns 
and military glory to which hunter nations can reach. 

In passing over the country which they once occupied, there is little 
to stimulate historical interest, beyond the general idea of their power 
and military renown. Their history is connected with the rise and 
influence of one of our most distinguished anti-revolutionary citizens. 
Sir William Johnson. The influence he obtained over them was never 
exceeded, if equalled by that of any other man of European lineage. 
He moulded them to his purposes in peace and war. They followed 
him in his most perilous expeditions, and sustained him manfully, as. 
•we know, in the two great contests to whose successful issue he owed 
his laurels, namely, Lake George and Niagara. So completely iden- 
tified were they in feeling and policy with this politic and brave man, 
that after his death, which happened at the crisis of '76, they trans- 
ferred their attachment to his family, and staking their all on the 
issue, abandoned their beloved valley and the bones of their fathers, 
and fled to the less hospitable latitudes of Canada, from which they 
have never pennanently returned. 

Some twenty or more persons of this tribe are mingled as residents 
of the villages of their brethren, the Senecas, Tuscaroras, and Onei- 
das. A much greater number exist with intermixture of other kin- 
dred tribes, in the St. Regis canton of St. Lawrence county ; but the 
greater number of the parent tribe reside on lands appropriated for 



* The word Mohawk itself, is not a term of Mohawk origin, but one imposed upon 
them, as is believed, by the Mohegan race, who inhabited the borders of the sea. 
Among tills race the Dutch and English landed, and tliey would naturally adopt the 
term most in vogue for so celebrated a tribe. The Dutch, indeed, modified it to Maa- 
quas — a modification which helps us to decypher its probable origin, in Mauqua (by kin- 
dred tribes, Mukwa, &c.) a bear. By others, it may be traced to mok, wa, a wolf, and 
awki, a country. 



No. 24.] 45 

their use by the British government, at Branttord, on the Grand river 
of Canada West. To this place at the close of the war, they fol- 
lowed their distinguished leader, Thayendanegea, the Jephtha of his 
tribe, who, against the custom of birth anil descent, and every other 
obstacle, after the failure of the line of wise and brave chiefs to lead 
them to battle, wasmade their Tekarahogea and leader, and displayed 
a degree of energy and firmness of purpose, which few of the abori- 
ginal race in America have ever equalled. 

What light the examination of the old places of burial of this 
tribe in the valley woulil throw on their ancient history or arts, by 
entombed articles, cannot be told without examinations which have 
not been made. Probably the old places of Indian interment about 
Canajoharie, Dionderoga, and Schenectady, would reveal something 
on this head, conforzning at least, in age and style of art, with the 
stone pipes, tomahawks and amulets of the Onondaga and Genesee 
countries. The valley of the Schoharie and that of the Tawasentha, 
or Norman's kill, near Albany, might also be expected to reward this 
species of research. [Vide B.J A human head, rudely carved in 
stone, apparently aboriginal, was sent to the New-York Historical 
Society early in 1845, which was represented to have been found in 
excavating a bank at Schenectady. If this piece of sculpture, which 
denoted more labor than art, be regarded as of Mohawk origin, it 
would evince no higher degree of art, in this respect, than was evinced 
by similar outlines cut in the rock, but not detached, by some of the 
New-England tribes.* 



* Rude carvings of this kind are represented to exist on the banks of the Connecticut, 
at Bellows' Falls, &c. 



46 . [Senati 



[b.] Origin and History of the Oneidas. 

This canton of the Iroquois nation, deduces its origin in a remote 
age, from the Onondagas, with the language of which, the Oneida 
has the closest affinity. According to a tradition which was related 
to me, and which is believed to be entitled to respect, they are 
descended from two persons, who, in their obscure ages, and before a 
confederation had been thought of, went out from the people at 
Onondaga, and first dwelt at the head of the Oneida river. After 
increasing in numbers, they removed to the outlet of the Oneida 
creek, which flows into Oneida lake. Here they fortified themselves, 
and farther increased in numbers and power. Remains of this fortifi- 
cation are said still to exist. Their next removal was up the Oneida 
creek valley, to the storied locality of the Oneida stone, from which, 
by a figure of speech, they represent themselves to have sprung. 
This stone is in the town of Stockbridge, Madison county. It lies on 
a very commanding eminence, from which the entire valley, as far as 
the Oneida lake, can be seen in a clear atmosphere. The day of my 
visit being hazy at a distance, the lake could not be seen, although 
the view down the valley, was both magnificent and picturesque. 
This eminence was formerly covered with a butternut grove. Old, 
and partly decayed trees of this species, still remain in a few places. 
The ancient town extended in a transverse valley, south of this ridge 
of land, covered as it was, with nut wood trees, and was completely 
sheltered by it, from the north winds. A copious and clear spring of 
water issued at the spot selected for their wigwams. Here in seclu- 
sion from their enemies, the tribe expanded and grew in numbers. 
When it was necessary to light their pipes, and assemble to discuss 
their national affairs, they had only to ascend the hill, through its 
richly wooded grove, to its extreme summit, at the site of the Oneida 
stone. This stone, represented on the succeeding page, became the 
national altar. 



No. 24.] 



47 





•^^4^^-^.ci^:. 



Slaiuling at its side, at a probable elevation of 400 or 500 feet 
above ths Stanwix summit, they could survey the whole valley of the 
Oneida ; and a beacon fire lighted here, was the signal for assembling- 
their warriors, from all the surrounding lateral plains and vallies. 
Time and usage rendered the object sacred, and as. they expanded 
into nationality and power, while located around it, their sages assert- 
ed with metaphorical truth, that they sprang from this rock. Stone 
in this language is Onia. They called themselves, Oniota-aug, peo- 
ple of, or who sprung from the stone. There is some variety in the 
pronunciation. The Mohawks call them Oneota. The French wrote 
it Aneyoute, the English and Dutch, Oneida, which latter has pre- 
vailed. Neither retained the plural inflection in augj which carries 
the idea of people. 

With a knowledge of these traditions, I approached the spot with 
deep interest. It occupies the extreme summit, as shown in the 
print. The first feeling, on approaching it, was one of disappoint- 
ment at its size, but this feeling soon subsided in the interest of its 
antiquity and national associations. It is a large, but not enormous 
boulder of syenite,* of the erratic block groupe, and, consequently, 
geologically foreign to the location. There are no rocks of this 
species in situ, I believe, nearer to it, in a northerly or easterly di- 
rection, than the Kayaderosseras or the Adirondach mountains.! The 
summit upon which, partly embedded, it reposes, is now a cleared 
field, in grass. A few primitive and secondary boulders, all of lesser 
size, are strown about the ridge, and several of weight and magni- 
tude rest upon its flanks, and in the vallies at its base. One of the 
largest of these is the "White Stone at tlie spring, which has been 
spoken of, I think, in some early notices of the Oneidas, as the 

• A specimen of the rock before me, broug;ht (hence, consists of flesh colored feld- 
spar, quartz anil hornblende. 

t If the passagrc of the Mohawk throufrh the Astorenga or Aslogan hills, at Little 
Falls, discloses syenite, I ani not aware of tiie fact. 



48 



[Senate 



true Oneida Stone ; but this opinion is erroneous, by the concurrent 
testimony of red and white men, cognizant of the facts, whom I 
consulted. This white stone, figured below, has been removed, 
by the proprietor of the land,* from its ancient position near the 
spring, to constitute part of a stone fence ; it is a carbonate of lime. 




TsHEjoANA, one of the Oneidas, who served as my guide in visit- 
ing this interesting location, took me to see still another stone, of 
note, lying a mile or more distant, in a southerly direction, on 
a farm of Gen. Knox. This stone, of which a figure is annexed, 




• Mr. Job Francis. 



No. 24.J 49 

I found to be a larp^e bonldor of dark, compact limestone, with or- 
ganic remains. 

It ^vas observable that the encrinites contained in Ihis mass, were 
red. My Indian guide would have this color to be the result of the 
ancient Indian war paint. But the most striking characteristic of this 
rock, aside from its massy and flattened size and channelled centre, 
consists in the evidences it affords of the action of water, in rounding 
and polishing it. In several places, my guide would have this wear- 
ing elfect to have been produced by the rubbing and sharpening of 
the Indian war axes ; for he averred that it was customary for war 
parties who went out south against the Cherokees, to come and 
sharpen their axes upon this stone, and paint themselves for war. 
Whatever there w^as in this custom, I think he was probably mis- 
taken in his locality ; yet it is a question in which others may differ. 
At any rate, geology had been quite beforehand with the Oneida le- 
gendary and philosopher, in producing and ac:ounting for these two 
phenomena, namely, the red color and smoothed and channelled sur- 
faces. Geology having been mentioned, I may add the following 
incident. I told Skanawadi, one of my guides, while standing at 
the Oneida stone, lying on its proud ancient elevation, that there was 
no stone like this, in place, till we went north to the Adirondachs or 
Tehawas, or great lakes, and that this block of syenite had been 
brought here by the ocean, when it covered the whole land, and left 
on its recession. He replied, after a moment's reflection, that " he 
believed this." 

At the time the Oneidas came to fix their location at this stone, 
the Konoshioni or Iroquois had not confederated. This people, in 
the early eras of their history, like the Algonquins, sent out indivi- 
duals and bands, who became powerful, and assumed the character 
of separate and independent tribes, making war and peace ad libitum. 
If this mode of multiplication be compared to the lower orders of 
creation, it had some striking analogies with it. Like the bear and 
the hawk, the moment the young member was ready to quit the 
parent lair or nest, it had not only to forage for subsistence, but to 
defend itself against other bears and hawks, and all other claimants 
to the food of the forest. To make war is, in fact, the first and the 
last act of sovereignty of the pettiest of all our aboriginal tribes. 

[Senate, No. 24. J 7 



50 [Senate 

War is with them the road, and the only road to fame, a-ul the rea- 
diest way to secure a supply of spontaneous food. They fight to- 
increase or defend the boundaries of their hunting grounds. Thus, 
doubtless, arose the first difficulties between the Oneidas and the other 
branches of the Iroquois. As soon as they we'-e important enough 
to be noticed, and bold enough to defend themselves, they had to 
raise barriers around their villages, and when these were carried, as 
they probably were, or were threatened to be, at two points, on the 
Oneida waters, they fled to the hill country, at the site of the Oneida 
stone. How long they abode here, and made it the seat of their 
council fire, we can only conjecture. They cannot and do not pre- 
tend to tell. Wisdom, at length, taught the Iroquois sages, that they 
bad enemies enough, without fighting with each other, and the idea of 
a confederation was suggested. Tradition has preserved the name of 
Thaunowaga as the original suggestor : but it has preserved nothing 
more of his biography. The delegate from the Oneidas was Otats- 
chechta. That he came from, and lived at., the locality of the stone^ 
and was renowned for h*is deeds and wisdom, is probable. This com- 
prises the brief biography of two celebrated aboriginal sages and 
statesmen. Three periods of transference, of their council fire, have 
been named, all of which were probably prior to the confederation. 
Their fourth remove was down the valley to the present site of Onei- 
da Castle — a place which then, as now, thry called Kunawaloa,, 
meaning a man's head on a pole. At this place they lived and held 
their council fire, when the Dutch, in 1609, discovered and ascended 
the Kohatatea, or, Hudson river. Such are the accounts of their 
sachems and wise men. It is a general confirmation of them, that 
the other members call them Younger Brother. 

By another and older Indian tradition, an earlier date is assigned to the 
Oneida canton, which is regarded as one of the original subdivisions 
of the generic stock. It represents this stock as moving from the 
west to the east, and at another period, returning towards the point 
of sun-setting, leaving the several separate tribes, or cantons, in their 
order as they passed. In this migration, the Oneidas are named as 
the second in geographical position and order of chronology. 



No. 24. J 51 

They located themselves, says the Tuscarora annalist,*" at a stream 
called Kaw nah taw te ruh, or Pineries, a tributary, of the Susque- 
hanna, ^vhich originates according to this authority, in Allen's lake, 
ten miles south of Oneida Castle. They were called Ne haw retahgo,f 
■or Big-Tree, a name, it may be remarked, which does not occur as 
the patronymic for this tribe in other authors, nor has it been retained 
by them. The distance and course denoted, coincide very nearly 
with that of the Oneida stone It is not known, however, that any 
tributary of the Susquehanna exists in that vicinity. 

The two traditions may indeed be reconciled to truth, by suppos- 
ing the latter the more ancient one, and that the Onondaga families 
before mentioned, constituted a subsequent accession to, and union 
with a band who had seated themselves at a prior era, at the spot 
denoted ^ or this band may have rernaineil there, on the general pas- 
sage of the people eastward, and thus been the nucleus of the tribe, 
on the general return of the people west. In any view, however, 
they were called and are still called by the Iroquois, " Younger 
Brother," which must be considered conclusive, that theirnationality 
is of a period subsequent to that of the Mohawks, Onondagas,Cayu- 
gas, and Senecas. This fact too, is adverse to the theory, which has 
too much the aspect of a mere theory, that the re-migration of the 
Iroquois westward from the Atlantic, proceeded like a marching army, 
leaving tribes here and there as they went, in a regular chronological 
order, each of which took a name, and " altered," as his phrase is, 
the language. The writer seems all along, to have had the Jewish 
Tribes in his mind. The truth is, ethnologically speaking, no tribe or 
nation, alters by an authoritative decision, or pre-thought, its language 
or idoims. Such alterations flow from time and circumstances. 
Least of all, do wandering savBge tribes gravely determine to " alter" 
their dialects. Accident, usage, or caprice, little by little, and at 
long intervals, is the parent of new dialects and languages. 

A few deductions may be added. By data before introduced, it 
will have been seen that it is probable the present confederation, 
whatever bad preceded it, did not take place till about 1539, or 
seventy years before the arrival of Hudson. It may be considered 

* Cusick. t In Tuscarora. 



52 [Senate 

as probable, that the Oneidas did not remove from the Oneida stone, 
into the valley and plains of Oneida Castle, until after the event of 
the final confederation betv/een the Five Tribes, gave them security 
against internal enemies. The date of this transfer cf the council 
fire, is rather remote, but not very ancient. A new forest has grown 
upon the old cornfields which were once cultivated at their ancient 
settlement at the Oneida stone. The appearance of corn hills in rows, 
is still clearly perceptible in some parts of this forest. To an inquiry 
how such a preservation of the outlines of corn hills could be possi- 
ble, my informant, who was an Oneida, answered, that in ancient 
times, the corn hills were made so large, that three clusters of stalks 
or sub-hills were raised on each circle or hill. There being no 
ploughs or other general means of turning up the earth, the same hill 
was used year after year, and thus its outlines became large and well 
defined. In a black walnut tree, standing on the site of one of these 
ancient corn-fields, which was partly cut, and partly broken off, I 
counted on the cut part, one hundred cortical layers, and measuring 
the broken part, estimated it to have 140 more. Allowing a year for 
each ring, the commencement of the growth was in 1555, or 16 years 
after the supposed date of the confederacy, and 290 years from the 
present date. 

The remaining history of the Oneidas can only be glanced at, but 
has some points of peculiar interest. They are the only tribe of the 
ancient Koncshioni who adhered to us, at least the better part of 
them, in our life and death struggle of the revolutionary war, saving 
some portion of the Tuscaroras ; whose aid, however, is justly due 
to the Oneida influence. It was by the Oneidas that the Tuscaroras 
were brought off from the south. The Oneidas had long distin- 
guished themselves in their war excursions against the southern In- 
dians. Their traditions are replete with accounts of these war par- 
ties against the Oyada, or Cherokees. They had found allies at the 
south in the Tuscaroras, who were themselves engaged in desperate 
wars, at various periods, against the Catabas, and Cherokees, and 
others. Besides this, Iroquois tradition claims the Tuscaroras as one 
of their original cantons, or rather as a band of the original Eagwe 
Heowe, who had, in early times gone south.* And when a crisis 
happened in their affairs, they nobly went to their relief, and seated 



* Vide Cusick's pamphlet. 



No. 24.J 63 

them on I heir wtslern conhnes, between themselves and the Ononda- 
gas, where they remained during the revolution. The Oneidas bore 
their full share in the long and bloody wars waged by Iroquois for 
more than two centuries, against the French in the Canadas, and 
against the distant Algonquins, Ilurons and lilinese. And he who 
scans the ancient records of treaties and councils, will find that their 
sachems were represented in the conferences assembled on this conti- 
nent, by the kings and potentates of Europe, who planted colonies 
at various times, between the respective Gulphs of Mexico and the 
St. Lawrence. After the flight of the Mohawks, in 1776, they were 
in the van of the Konoshioni, and to use their symbolic phraseology, 
stood in the eastern door of the Long House. When the mixed 
Saxon population of New-York and New-England began, after the 
war of 1776, to move westward, the Oneidas first felt the pressure 
upon their territory. Ey siding with the colonists, they had secured 
their entire ancient domain, from which they ceded to the State, 
from time to time, such portions as they did not want for cultivation, 
taking in lieu money annuities. Nor did they fail to profit, in a mea- 
sure, by the example of industry set before them in agriculture and 
the arts. For a \vhile, it is true, they reeled before the march of in- 
temperance, and sunk in numbers, but many of them learned the art 
of holding the plough. From the earliest times they were noted, 
along with their more western brethren, for the cultivation of Indian 
corn, and the planting of orchards. They also became tolerable 
herdsmen, and raised in considerable numbers, neat cattle, horses and 
hogs. 

To preserve their nationality, their sachems, about the year 1820, 
sent delegates west to look out a location for their permanent resi- 
dence. They purchased a suitable territory from the Monomonees of 
Wisconsin, a wandering and non-idustrious race, seated about Green 
Bay, and expended a part of their annuities in the payment. This 
turned out a wise measure. They soon began to remove, and have 
at this time a very flourishing settlement on Duck river, in that terri- 
tory. At that location they have established schools, temperance 
Societies and a church. They bear a good reputation for morals and 
industry, and are advancing in civilization and the arts. 

By an oflicial return of the date of 1844, they numbered 722 
persons at that settlement. Two hundred and ten are still seated 



54 [Senate 

within the boundaries of New- York, mostly in Oneida county. They 
are a mild people, of a good stature, and easy manners, and speak a 
soft dialect of the Iroquois, abounding in the liquid /, which, together 
with a mild enunciation, imparts a pleasing character to their speech. 



[c] Onondagas. 

Onondaga was, from the remotest times, the seat of the Iroquois 
government. Granting credence to the account of their own origin, 
on the high grounds or falls of the Oswego, they had not proceeded 
far up the course of the widely gathered waters of this stream, when 
a portion of them planted their wigwams in this fertile region. 
Whatever was the cause of their migrating from their primary coun- 
cil fire, nothing was more natural than that, by pursuing this stream 
upward, they should separate into independent tribes, and by further 
tracing out its far spread forks, gradually expand themselves, as they 
were found by the discoverers and first settlers, over the entire area 
of western New-York. On reaching the grand junction of Three 
River Point, a part w^ent up the Seneca river, who subsequently di- 
viding, formed the Senecas and Cayugas. The bands who took the 
eastern fork, or Oneida river, pushed forward over the Deowainsta, 
or Rome summit, into the first large stream, flowing east, and became 
the Mohawks. The central or Onondaga fork was chosen by the 
portion who, from the hill country they first located in, took this 
name ; and from them, the Oneidas, pursuing in fact the track of the 
Mohawks, were an off-shoot. That such was the general route, and 
causes of their separation, appears as evident as strong probabilities, 
in coincidence with their own traditions and modern discovery, can 
make it. That the whole of the original number who started from 
the south banks of Lake Ontario, did not keep together till they 
reached the valley of the Hudson and the sea, and then go back to the 
•y^^estj — forjso their general tradition has it, is also both reasonable and 
probable to suppose. Large bodies of hunters cannot keep long t(^ 
gether. They must separate to procure food, and would separate 
from other causes. The first effect of their separation and spread 
into various rich vallies, abounding in game, nuts and fish, was a 



No. 24.] 



55 



rapid increase in population. Tiic next, to become overbearing, 
quarrel about territory, and fight. They were compelled to build 
forts to defend their stations, or secure their women and childnn, 
at night, and by this system, kept down their popuhition to about 
its firsi; point of increase. It is altogether probable that they did not 
more than maintain, for ages, a stationary population, which occa- 
sionally wont down by disease and other calamities, and again re- 
vived, as we know that natural causes, in the laws of vitality, will 
revive a people quickly, after the scourge of pestilence. 

The idea of a confederation was, it is believed, an old one with 
this people, for the very oldest traditions speak of something of this 
kind, among the lake and St. Lawrence tribes of older days. When 
the present league was formed, on the banks of the Onondaga lake, 
this central tribe had manifestly greatly increased in strength, and 
distinguished itself in arms, and feats of hunting and daring against 
giants and monsters, for in such rencontres their traditions abound. 

Most distinguished, however, above all others, east or west, was a 
loader of great courage, wisdom and address, called Atotarho ; and 
when they proposed to form a league, this person, who had inspired 
dread, and kept himself retired, was anxiously sought. lie was 
found, by the Mohawk embassy, who were charged with the matter, 
sitting as he is represented in the annexed cut, composedly in a 



^SB^^SS!?! 




56 [Senate 

swamp, smoking his pipe, and rendered completely invulnerable, by 
living serpents. These animals extended their hissing heads from all 
parts of his head and body. Every thing about him, and the place 
of his residence, was such as to inspire the utmost fear and respect. 
His dishes and spoons were made of the skulls of enemies, whom he 
had slain in battle. Him, when they had duly approached with pre- 
sents and burned tobacco in friendship, in their pipes, by way of 
frankincense, they placed at the head of their league, as its presiding 
officer. They collected a large quantity of wampum, and invested 
him with a broad belt of this sacred article. I found the original 
drawing of this personage, from w'hich the above is reduced, in the 
summer of 1845, in the house of a Seneca on the Cattaragus reserva- 
tion. The owner of this curious pictorial relic, on being asked, pro- 
ceeded to a chest and carefully took it from its envelope, and allow- 
ed me to make a copy. It represents Atotarho, at the moment of 
his discovery, by. the Mohawk delegation. 

The right thus aw^arded to the Onondagas, to furnish a presiding 
officer for the league, has ever been retained, and is still possessed by 
that canton. To the Mohawks, at the same time, was awarded the 
Tekarahogea, or chief war captain — an office, however, of the gene- 
ral recognition of which, there is a disagreement amongst interpre- 
tors. 

A singular tradition may be here added. It is said that the 
Xlllth Atotarho reigned at Onondaga when America was discovered. 
[D.] 

Giving to each Atotarho* a rule of fifteen years, and taking Hud- 
son's voyage as the period the Indians allude to, w^e should have A. 
D. 1414, as the era of the present confederacy, in place of 1539, be- 
fore mentioned on the authority of a general tradition recorded by 
Pyrlaus. We cannot, however, place much reliance upon Cusick's 
chronology. 



• Incidental circumstances have led to the substitution of the above head for the origi- 
nal fisure. 



No. 24.1 67 



[d.] Cayugas. 

The history of this canton does not stand out prominently among 
the Iroquois while it will be found that as one of the inclusive tribes 
who carried their name and fame so high among the aborigines, they 
have performed their due part, and produced warriors, sages and 
speakers of eminence. Were every thing else, indeed, blotted out of 
their history, the fact of their having produced a Logan* would be 
sufficient to rescue their memory from oblivion. In their early search 
after a place to hunt, fish and plant corn, as an independent tribe, 
they, on the assumption of their own traditions, passed up the Seneca 
river, into the sylvan and beautiful lake which bears their name. In 
visiting this lake the present year, in search of their ancient sites, it 
was not without a melancholy interest, that I surveyed, within the 
boundaries of Aurora, the remains of one of those apple orchards, 
which were ruthlessly cut down by a detachment of the army of 
Gen. Sullivan, in his severe but necessary expedition in 1778. Many 
vestiges of their ancient residence still remain in Cayuga county, nor 
has local memory, in its intelligent|and hospitable inhabitants, dropped 
from its scroll the names of several of its distinguished chiefs, and 
their places of abode. They point to a spot at Springport, now 
trenched on by the road, where lie the remains of Karistagea, better 
known by his English appellative of Steeltrap, one of their noted 
chiefs and wise men, who extended the hospitalities of his lodge to 
the first settlers on the " Military Tract." The nation itself, although 
they had fought strenuously under the Red Cross of St. George in 
the Revolutionary war, appeared to be composed of mild and peace- 
able men, of friendly dispositions towards the settlers. They brought 
venison, fish and wild fruits for sale to the doors of families, whose 
elder branches yet dwell upon the shores of the Cayuga. 

Yet their history is a melancholy one, and their decline, on the 
settlement of Western New- York, was probably one of the most 



f^ • Logan was the son of Skellelimus, a Cayuga, and went early to the Ohio valley, if 
he were not born there. 

[Senate, No. 24. 1 8 



58 [Senate 

Striking instances of the rapid depopulation of a tribe in modern days.. 
Their first cession of land to the State was in 1789. This was con- 
firmed at the general treaty of Fort Stanwix in 3790, and s«ch had 
been the pressure of emigration into that quarter, that in 1795, at a 
treaty held at Cayuga bridge, they ceded their reserve of one hundred 
miles square in the valley of the Seneca outlet and the basin of Cay- 
uga lake, reserving but four miles square. In these treaties they 
deemed themselves wise to change into large money annuities,* a ter- 
ritory which was no longer useful for hunting, and which they did 
not cultivate. 

Experience has shown, however, throughout America, that Indiam 
tribes, who live on annuities, and not by agricultural labor, are ins 
the most dangerous condition of rapid decline. To render the dan- 
ger eminent, it needs but the close proximity of a European popula- 
tion, who present the means of indulging selfish gratifications. 
Among these means, so seductive to the Indian mind, ardent spirits 
have ever been the most baneful. It proved so at least with the 
Cayugas, for within sixteen years after the treaty of Fort Stanwix, 
they had all emigrated west. Some of them had rejoined their bre- 
thren, who followed Brant and the Mohawks to Canada. Some had 
migrated to Sandusky, in Ohio, and others found a refuge among the 
Senecas, near Buflfalo, With the Senecas they have ever been on 
most intimate terms. Whilst they lived on the Cayuga lake, and 
the latter on the Seneca, they were separated by a midland range of 
forest, little more than 16 miles broad. They intermingled freely in 
their hunting parties, and even in their villages. The inhabitants 
still point to a large tree near Canoga, on the banks of Cayuga lake,^ 
•where the celebrated orator Red Jacket was born. 

In investigating the Indian population of New-York, under the 
provisions of the census act, I found 114 Cayugas residing in twenty 
families, on the Cattaragus reservation. These families cultivate 316 
acres of land, and during the year 1845, they raised 1,970 bushels of 
corn, 1,622 of oats, 210 of wheat, 955 of potatoes, and 277 of buck- 
wheat, besides esculents and small articles. They were found to 
possess 43 milch cows, 39 horses, 40 sheep, and 109 hogs. Besides 



A perpetual annuity of $2,300 was secured by one of these treaties. 



No. 24.] 59 

the Cayugas residing on the Cattaragus, there were found, dispersed 
among the other cantons, S3 persons ; making the whole number 
within the boundaries oi" New- York, 197. The style of iheir dwell- 
ings is, generally, that of squareii timber, plainly but comfortably 
furnished, with glass windows, and plain common furniture. Six- 
teen of the number are members of Protc-stant churches. The males 
dress exclusively in the European fashion, and their condition and 
prospects are, like those of tiie Scnecas, among whom they dwell, in 
a high degree encouraging to the friends of humanity. Of the num- 
ber out of the bounds of the Slate, there have been no accurate means 
of judging. The vocabulary of their language (ride appendix O) 
will denote its close affinities with other tribes of this family. 

From a remark made to me, by a daughter of Brant, (the late Mrs. 
Kerr.) at her house near Wellington square, Canada, in 1S43, I am 
inclined to think, that in the early wars waged by the Iroquois against 
the Virginia Indians, the Cayugas defeated and made prisoners tlie 
remnant of theTuteloes, whom they brought and settled among them, 
in the Cayuga country. 



\e.] History and origin of the Senecas, 

One of the first traits which strikes an observer on entering the 
territory of this tribe, is the fact that they are called by a name 
which is not known in their vocabulary, and which they only recog- 
nize from having long been thus designated by others. Identical as 
it is in its present orthography, with the name of the Roman moral- 
ist, it is yet wholly improbable that it liad any such origin ; it must 
be regarded as an accidental coincidence of sound in some other 
Indian tongue. That this tongue is the Mohawk, a people who stood 
first in position east on the Iroquois borders, is probable, but not cer- 
tain. The earlier authors spelt it with a k, with the a final, which 
probably had the usual broad sound. It occurs on a map of 1G14, 
which was brought over from Holland recently, by the historical 
agent of the State, and has been laid, by that gentleman, be 
fore the New-York Historical Society, with the proofs of its genu- 



6C? [Senate 

ineness, thus bringing the use of the word within five years of the 
voyage of Hudson. 

The term by which they call themselves is Nukdowaga, or the 
People of the Hill. A name which leads us at once to consider the 
accounts of their own origin. Various relations of this story have 
been given, differing in some of their details, but all coinciding in 
the main events, namely : that they originated and lived on a well 
known hill, at the bead of Canandaigua lake, where they were put 
in eminent peril of utter destruction by a monstrous serpent, which 
circled itself about the fort and lay with its mouth open at the gate. 
The following is given from a native source, and has some novel de- 
tails to recommend it. 

While the tribe had its seat and council fire on this hill, a woman 
and her son were living near it, when the boy, one day caught a small 
two-headed serpent, called Kaistowanea, in the bushes. He brought 
it home as a pet to amuse himself, and put it in a box, where he fed 
it on bird's flesh and other dainties. After some time it had become 
SO' large that it rested on the beams of the lodge, and the hunters- 
were obliged lo feed it with deer ; but it soon w"ent out and made its 
abode on a neighboring hilly where it maintained itself. It often went 
out and sported in the lake, and in time became so large and mis- 
chievous that the tribe were put in dread of it. They consulted on 
the subject one evening, and determined to fl.y next morning j but 
with the light of the next morning ihe monster had encircled the 
hill and lay with its double jaws extended before the gate. Some 
attempted to pass out, but were driven back ; others tried to climb 
over its body, but were unable. Hunger at last drove them to des- 
peration, and they made a rush to pass, but only rushed into the mon- 
ster's double jaws. All were devoured but a warrior and his sister^ 
who waited in vain expectancy of relief. At length the warrior had 
a dream, in which he was showed that if he would fledge his arrows 
with the hair of his sister, the charm would prevail over their enemy- 
He was warned not to heed the frightful heads and hissing tongues, 
but to shoot at the heart. Accordingly, the next morning he armed 
himself with his keenest weapons, charmed as directed, and boldly 
shot at the serpent's heart. The instantaneous recoiling of the mon- 
ster proved that the wound was mortal. He began in great agony 
to roll down the hill, breaking down trees and uttering horrid noises. 



No. 24. J 61 

until he rolled into the lake. Here he slaked his thirst, and tried by 
water to mitigate his agony, dashing about in fury. At length he 
vomited up all the people whom he had eaten, and iminidialely ex- 
pired and sunk to the bottom.* 

The fort was immediately deserted, and all who bad escaped went 
with their deliverer to, and fixed their council fire on, the west shores 
of Seneca lake, where Geneva now stands. 

The general course of the migration and conquests of the Senecas 
has, however, been towards the west. Taking their own general and 
ancient traditions of the parent stock, to wit, their origin in the val- 
ley of the Oswego, they may be supposed to have followed the Se- 
neca branch of tho>;e outspread waters to the banks of the Seneca and 
Canandaigua lakes, and thence into the rich valley of the Genesee. 
At an early day they were limited to the region east of this capital 
stream, which, crossing the country in a transverse direction, formed 
a natural boundary. There lived west of it, in ancient times, a tribe 
who are known as Aileghans, Andastes and Eries, or, as the Senecas call 
them, Kah-Kwas. They had their council fires at or near Buffalo, ex- 
tending west and also east. The people called by the French the 
Neuter Nation, had placed themselves, so far as we can learn, on the 
waters of Oak-Orchard creek, which draws its tributaries in part from 
the fertile districts of Genesee, Niagara and Orleans counties. From 
the accounts of the Tuscaroras, [D. | this people were governed in 
early times by a queen, who ruled over twelve forts in that quarter. 
North of them, embracing the Niagara ridge and the country below 
it, dwelt a branch of the Algonquin nation, who are called by the 
same authority, Twankannah. Other names occur, which are believed 
to be either synonymcs for these, or minor divisions of the three 
principal tribes named, of which some further notice will be taken in 
a subsequent paper on the antiquarian remains of the country. 

That these Trans-Genesscan people were populous and warlike, 
not only maintaining their grounds against the Senecas, but often de- 



• If this be viewed as an allnp^ory, it mny admit of this interpretation. Infernal fcudt 
created by somebody brought up in their own lodcres, oriqrinated hatred and hot blood. In a 
long and bloody]war, the nation was nearly exterminated ; at lenpth tiie ailections of a 
woman prevailed. Harmony was restored, and a new era of prosperity began, by remo- 
ving the council fire to another place. 



62 {Senate 

feating them and driving them back, is proved not only by the tra- 
ditions of the Senecas themselves, but by the striking evidences of 
their military strength and skill, denoted by the remains of forts and 
intrenchments and cemeteries, yet existing throughout the extensive 
area, included between the Genesee and the Niagara, extending up 
the southern shores of Lake Erie to Chautauque and the other prin- 
cipal known Indian routes to the waters of the Alleghany and Ohio. 
There is, at least, one authority* for believing that the Eries them- 
selves were remotely descended from the Senecas, and we have living 
tradition to prove [VIII,] that, at the time of their final defeat and'so 
called extermination, some of them fled west, whilst the remainder of 
them, scattered, cut up and depressed, were incorporated in the Se- 
neca canton. 

To the Twankannas, the Neuter Nation, and other tribes and 
bands, not being Eries, who lived in this portion of the State, the 
Iroquois applied the general term of Adirondacks,! a bold, warlike, 
northern race, who spread over many degrees of latitude and longi- 
tude in former days, covering, by generic affiliation with other tribes, 
all New-England and the Atlantic coast, to North Carolina, and who 
are still, in their numerous and subdivided descendants, in the upper 
lakes and the west, the most numerous of any of the aboriginal 
stocks yet existing east of the Mississippi and Missouri. So long as 
the Iroquois remained divided, the Eries and their Algonquin allies 
kept their ground ; and there is no reason to believe that they began 
to decline until a considerable period after the era of the Onondaga 
league. That league was at first but little more than an agreement 
to stand by each other, and to send delegates and forward news to a 
central council ; but it put an end to intestine wars, and its popular 
capacities soon developed themselves, and made it formidable to their 
neighbors. Thus much by way of prelude to their wars, to be no- 
ticed hereafter. 

The Senecas were from the earliest times the most powerful of the 
Iroquois, nearly doubling, in its best estate, the Mohawks. Their 
population in past days has been variously estimated, and often ex- 
aggerated. Perhaps Dalton, who puts it at 400 warriors, or 2,000 
souls, during the American war, verges to the opposite extreme, and 

• Cusick. t Called Algonquins by the French. 



No. 21. J «3 

actually underrates it. Be this as it may, I found the entire Seneca 
population, within the State, to be 2,383, residing on four reserva- 
tions in the counties of Niagara and Genesee, Eric, Cliautauque, Cat- 
taraugus and Alleghany. They were found to be divided into 53S 
families, who cultivated, in the aggregate, 8,416 acres of land. The 
produce of this land, as near as it could be obtained, as some declined 
stating it, was 21,341 bushels of corn, 3,745 of wheat, 20,039 of 
oats, and 12,469 of potatoes, besides buckwheat, turneps, peas, ami 
smaller articles. They possess 1,537 neat cattle, 510 milch cows, 
626 horses, 335 sheep, and 2,269 hogs. Other details of their ad- 
vance in agriculture were equally flattering. They cut large quanti- 
ties of meadow land, possess an adequate supply of farming utensils, 
carts, wagons, including many tasty buggies and sleighs. Very 
little of their means of subsistence, even in the most unfavored posi- 
tions, is derived from the chase. Upwards of 4,000 fruit trees were 
counted. The style of their buildings, fences and household furni- 
ture, as well as the dress of the males, is not essentially diflferent, and 
little, often nothing at all, inferior to that of their white neighbors. 
Temperance and temperance societies exist in a good state in each 
canton. Fifteen of their youth have received a collegiate or aca- 
demic education. A number of these have studied professions. 
About 350 of the children attend private or missionary schools, and 
so far as I could obtain returns, some 250 adults are enrolled as 
members of Protestant churches. Of this number, there are several 
catechists and intelligent educated translators and interpreters of the 
language. On the four reservations, there are fifteen native me- 
chanics and three physicians. 

Thus it appears that the energies once devoted by their ancestors 
to war and hunting, are in good earnest now directed to husbandry 
and the arts ; and there is every encouragement to hope, and reason 
to believe, that by a continuance in the best measures, they will be 
wholly reclaimed and added to the number of useful, intelligent and 
moral citizens. In viewing the condition of such a people, hardy, 
well formed and active, and pressing forward, as they are, in the 
great experiment of civilization, humanity consoles itself with the 
hope, that the energy and firmness of purpose which once carried 
them, in pursuit of warlike glory, far and wide, will develope itself, 
as it has already signally commenced to do, in the labors of the field 



^"^"^ 64 [Senate 

and the workshop. Their rude picture-writing upon the bark of 
trees, has given place to the school. Their prophets' lodges have 
been converted into churches ; their midnight orgies, at the Indian 
dancing house, into societies to promote temperance. It is but ap- 
plying present experience to future results, to predict that these 
results may become general. The eloquence thrown out by a Red 
Jacket, in opposition to the further curtailment of their territory,, 
may shine out, in some of his descendants, to enlighten his people 
in agriculture, morals and political economy. Nor ought we to 
doubt that the desk and the forum are yet to resound with Seneca 
eloquence. 



[/. ] Tuscaroras. 

/ 

The traditions of this canton affirm, that they are descendants of 
the original family of Iroquois, who began their existence, or their 
nationality, at least at or near the falls of the Oswego. After the 
migration of the parent tribe towards the sea, and their return west 
and separation into tribes, this band went on west till they reached 
Lake Erie. From hence they travelled southwest till they reached 
the Mississippi. Part of them crossed the river, and they were thus 
divided. Those who went over, became, in time, the enemies of 
such as remained on its eastern banks, and were finally lost and for- 
gotten from their memory. 

Terenyawagon, the Holder of the Heavens, who was the patron of 
the home bands, did not fail, in this crisis, to direct their way also. 
After giving them practical instructions in war and hunting, he guid- 
ed their footsteps in their journies, south and east, until they had 
crossed the Alleghanies, and reached the shores of the sea, on the 
coasts which are now called the Carolinas. They were directed to 
fix their residence on the banks of the Cau-tan-o, that is, a Pine in 
the water, now called Neuse river, in North Carolina. By this time 
their language was altered, but not so much but that they could un- 
derstand each other. Here Terenyawagon left them to hunt, increase 
and prosper, whilst he returned to direct the remaining Five Nations 
to form their confederacy. Thus far the Tuscarora annaKst. His- 



No 24.] 65 

tory picks up the Tuscaroras precisely where trachlion and fable leave 
them. On the settlement of Virginia and tlie Carolinas, they were 
found to be the first nation of any stability of purpose, after passing 
the Powhatannic tribes, in proceeding south. The intcrveninnr coast 
tribes were petty chieftaindoms, few in numbers and disunited in 
action or policy. Tliey were essentially ichthiopagi. They soon 
fell before the two-fold inllucnce of idleness and rura, and have left 
little or no history, or traits worth preserving. »Such is the history 
of the Chowanokes,* the Maratocks, and the Mangoacks, who, in 
one hundred and twenty years from the date of Raleigh's patent, had 
dwindled from 6,000 to forty-six bowmen. t 

The Tuscaroras, who lived in the game country, on the skirts of 
the mountains, showed themselves at the mouths of Cantano or Neuse, 
Contintny, and Taw rivers. They were, at the time, numerous and 
warlike, and as inimical to the inhabitants of the Carolinas, as they 
were numerous. They were at war with the Catabas, the Cowetas 
and the Cherokees. Numbers, bravery and success, and abundance 
of animal food, made them haughty, and they evinced the disposition 
of thtir northern brethren, by trying to subjugate and break down 
their neighbors. What they had done with red men, very effectual- 
ly, it must be confessed at least with the Catabas, they thought they 
might do with the Hugcnots of France, the cavaliers of England, and 
the protestants of the baronetcy of GrafFenried in Germany. It is not 
imp.'obable, indeed, that, at a prior era, the Tuscaroras were the very 
people who had exterminated the colony left on Roanoke island, 
under the first attempts of Sir Walter Raleigh to colonize Virginia. 
But, if such were the fact — a mere conjecture at best — they mistook 
their present neighbors and their own position in attempting to repeat 
the act. 

Tliis scheme was, however, deeply laid, although it appeared to be 
a matter hastily executed. They had long felt a giowing jealousy 
of the encroaching settlements, and gave vent to it, the first occasion 
that offered, by seizing Lawson the surveyor-general of the Province, 
on a trip up the Neuse, and after a kind of trial before a council, 
putting iiim to death. The Baron Graffcnried, who was with him, 

• Mr. JeJcrson ihioln (vide Notes, p. 1j2, Loadon ed. of 17S7,) thai this trib* ww 
connected with the Tuteloa, Nottaways and Meherrins of Virginia, 
t Williamson. 
[Senate, No. 24. J 9 



66 [Senate 

and was also condemnedj but saved, on an appeal on the ground of 
his being a man of rank and not an Englishman ; but they kept him 
a prisoner, while they proceeded to execute their ill-advised and ne- 
farious plot, which was nothing less than the massacre of the entire 
colony in one day. The day fixed for this tragedy was the 22d of 
September, 1711. Williamson* thinks it was an impulsive move- 
ment arising from the killing of Lawson, who being a public officer, 
they felt themselves committed in a war, and resolved to proceed with 
the bloody work. For this purpose they divided themselves into small 
bands of six or seven, and entering the settlements at various points, 
theys truck down with the tomahawk on one day one hundred and thirty 
persons. To conceal their intentions, they had left their arms, and relied 
on theirhatchets alone. In this plot, they were assisted by the sea-coast 
bands of Corees, Mattamuskeets and Bear-river Indians, some three 
or four tribes, denoting a league and maturity in the attempt. But 
the plan did not succeed to their wishes, for besides that the colony 
consisted then of nearly two thousand men, much spread, it must 
needs have happened that many at the time of attack, would be absent 
from their homes. The colonists rallied, and prepared to carry the 
war home to their subtle assailants. They asked the aid of South 
Carolina, which came gallantly to their rescue. The Legislature of 
of that Province having granted four thousand pounds, placed Col. 
Barnwell at the head of a small detachment of armed men, supported 
by a large body of Cherokees, Creeks and Catabas, the deadly ene- 
mies of the Tuscaroras. He killed, in various actions, thirty Tusca- 
roras,and fifty of the sea-coast auxiliaries, and took two hundred 
women and children of the latter prisoners, and returned. The war 
thus commenced was continued, with various results for some few 
years. The aid of Virginia, as well as South Carolina was invoked 
the next year. The Tuscaroras also made vigorous exertions. They 
were well provided with arms and ammunition, and despatched run 
ners to the Senecas for aid. Their auxiliaries, the Mattamuskets, 
Corees and others killed or made prisoners the next winter, forty in- 
habitau's of the Island of Roanoke or Croatan. The Tuscaroras 
};epared to maintain their power by entrenching themselves behind 
a picketed work on the river Taw. This work, called fort Naharuke, 
stood on a plain beside a creek, and consisted of a rampart of earth, 
covering the whole ground occupied, defended with palisades. To 
* Hist. North Carolina. 



No. 24.J 67 

protect themselves from artillery, they had dug within this wall, 
square pits of earth, six feet deep, covered with poles, and connected 
by a wall of earth. They were well provided with corn and ammu- 
nition, and had the means of standing a siege, had they made a wise 
provision for water. To obtain this necessary article, they relied on 
an artificial ditch leading to the stream. 

To this aboriginal fort Col. Moore of South-Carolina, drove them 
from the lower country with 40 musketeers and SOO Indians, in the 
early part of the winter of 1713, after having been detained on his 
march by a deep snow. He immediately saw the mistake of the 
water trench, and placed cannon to rake it. He then fortified the 
only passage or point of land, where the Indians would be likely to 
escape, and began regular approaches to the work, which he entered 
on the 26th of March, 1713, taking 800 Tuscaroras prisoners. It is 
not said how many were killed. He had lost of his army, during 
the seige, 22 white, and 36 red men killed, and 29 of the former, and 
50 of the latter wounded. The Cherokees and their allies claimed 
the prisoners, who were taken to the south, and sold as slaves, a part, 
as we are left to infer, being offered by the southern Indians, to appease 
the spirit of retaliation for prior losses by them. 

This brought the tribe to terms, and they entered into prelimina- 
ries of peace, by which they agreed to deliver up twenty men, who 
were the contrivers of the plot, and who took Lawson and Graffen- 
ried ; to restore all prisoners, horses and cattle, arms and other pro- 
perty ; to treat and pursue the Mattamuskeets and their other allies, 
as enemies ; and finally, to give two hostages for the peaceable con- 
duct of each of their towns. 

During the following summer, the chief called " King Blount," 
brought in thirty scalps from his miserably treated allies ; " but the 
greater part of the nation," says the historian before quoted, " unable 
to contend, and unwilling to submit, removed to the northward, and 
joined the Seneka, and other confederate tribes on the frontiers of 
New-York.* Those w-ho remained, were to have settled between the 
Neuse and Taw rivers ; but an Iiulian war having broken out in the 
southern colonics in 1715, only three months after the peace, with 
the Corees and their other former allies, the Tuscaroras, now the 

• Williamson. 



gg [Senate 

remains of a broken down tribe, feeble in numbers and power, obtain- 
ed permission to settle on the north side of the Roanoke river, on a 
reservation, where some of them were living in 1803. 

The whole number of Indians living in North Carolina in 1708, 
estimating their fighting men, were 1,608, of whom, the Tuscaroras 
constituted 1;200, which would give them, on the ordinary principle 
of estimating their population, 6,000 souls. Two thirds of the 
■whole number of their fighting men were captured at the taking of 
fort N.\H.\nuKE in 1713. How many were killed on other occa- 
sions is not certainly known ; but it is probable that in this short w^ar 
of but three years duration, and owing to the desertion of families, 
death by sickness, want, and other casualties consequent upon the 
surrender of Naharuke, they sunk to almost immediate insignificance. 
Those who fled to their kindred in western New-York, were never 
counted. They were estimated, perhaps high, at 200 warriors, in 
177C. They were located at first, immediately west of, and in juxta- 
position to the Oneidas, along with whom, they are mentioned as 
being secured in their rights, by the treaty of Fort Stanwix, in 1784. 
But in fact, they had no independent claim to territory, living merely 
as guests, although the confederacy had admitted them as an integral 
member, after their disastrous flight from North Carolina, calling 
themselves no longer the Five, but the Six Nations. The Sene- 
cas gave them lands on the Niagara Ridge, after the American 
revolution ; these w^ere subsequently secured to them in a reservation 
made by the State, in the present bounds of Niagara county. Here 
they have continued to dwell, having added to their possessions, by an 
early purchase from the Holland Land Company, made with the 
avails of the sale of their reservation north of the Roanoke, in North 
Carolina. 

But if the Tuscaroras have erred in policy, and sunk in numbers, 
with a rapidity and in a ratio imequalled by any other members of 
the confederacy, if we except the Onondagas and Cayugas, they may 
be said to have grown wise .by experience. Low^ as their present 
numbers are, they hold an exalted rank among their brethren for 
industry, temperance, and their general advance in arts, agriculture 
and morals. 

I found, on making the enumeration, 283 persons living in 53 
families, of whom 151 were males and 167 females. These families 



No. 24.] 69 

cultivated the past year 2,080 acres of land, on which they raised 
4,897 bushels of wheat, 3,515 of corn, 4,085 of oats, 1,1G6 of pota- 
toes, besides limited quantities of peas, beans, buckwheat and turnips. 
They possess 336 neat cattle, 98 milch cows, making 7,537 pounds 
of butter, 153 horses, 215 sheep, and 596 hogs. 

When it is considered that this enumeration gives an average of 
six neat cattle, three horses, (nearly) two milch cows, (nearly) 10 
hogs, and 92 bushels of wheat, 966 of corn to each family, their 
capacity to sustain themselves, and their advance as agriculturists 
will be perceived. Fifty-nine ploughs were found amongst fifty- 
three families. They cut 195 acres of meadow to sustain their cat- 
tle. They have over 1,500 fruit trees, and dwell in excellent frame 
or square-timber houses, well finished, and for the most part well 
furnished. I noticed one edifice of stone, in the process of building, 
seated on rising grounds, amidst shade trees, which denotes both 
•wealth and taste. Other results of civilization are to be already ob- 
served. Among these there are no slight indications of classes of 
society, arranging themselves, as rich ami poor, intelligent and igno- 
rant, industrious and idle, moral and immoral. 

Of the entire population, 63 are church members, and 231 mem- 
bers of temperance societies, which is a far higher proportion than is 
found in any other of the cantons. 



[g.] Necariages. 

The Tuscaroras were probably admitted into the confederacy about 
1714. Nine years afterwards the Iroquois received the Nicariages. 
Under this name the long expatriated Quatoghies, or Hurons, then 
livinjr at Teiodondercshie or Michilimackinac, were taken into the 
confederacy as the Seventh Tribe, or canton. This act was consum- 
mutated in the reign of George II., at a public council held at Al- 
bany on the 30lh May, 1723, on their own desire. A delegation of 
80 men, who had their families with them, were present. Of this 
curious transaction but little is known. For although done in taith, 
it was not perceived that a tribe so far separated from the main body, 



70 [Senate 

although now reconciled, and officially incorporated, could not effect- 
ually coalesce and act as one. And accordingly, it does not appear, 
by the subsequent history of the confederacy, that they ever came to 
recognize, permanently, the Necariages as a Seventh Nation. The 
foundation for this act of admission had been laid at a prior period 
by the dating and adroit policy of Adario, who had so skilfully con- 
trived to shift the atrocity of his own act, in the capture of the Iro- 
quois delegates on the St. Lawrence, on the Governor-General of 
Canada. 

It has been mentioned, in a preceding page of this report, that the 
Iroquois recommended their political league as a model to the colo- 
nies, long before the American revolution was thought of. And it 
is remarkable that its typical character, in relation to our present 
union, shouhl have been also sustained, in the feature of the admis- 
sion, if not " annexation," of new tribes, who became equal partici- 
pants of all the original rights and privileges of the confederacy. 



[h.] St. Regis Colony, or Band. 

This community is an off-shoot of the Iroquois stock, but not a 
member of the confederacy. It originated in the efforts commenced 
about the middle of the 17th century, by the Roman Catholic church 
of France, to draw the Iroquois into communion with that church. 
It was, however, but a part of the public policy, which originated 
in the reign of Louis XV., to colonize the Iroquois country, and 
wrest it from the power of the British crown. When this effort 
failed, — replete as it was with wars, intrigues and embassies, battles 
and massacres, which make it the heroic age of our history, the per- 
sons who had become enlisted in the ritual observances of this church, 
were induced to withdraw from the body of the tribes, and settle on 
the banks of the St. Lawrence, in the area of the present county of 
St. Lawrence. It was, in effect, a missionary colony. Its mem- 
bers were mostly Mohawks, from Caughnawaga, with some Oneidas, 
and perhaps a few of the Onondagas, amongst whom there had been 
Catholic missions and forts established, at early dates. 



No. 24.] 71 

The exertions made to organize this new canton were, poUtically 
considered, at direct variance with the colonial policy of New-York 
and were therefore opposed by the persons entrusted by the crown 
with Indian affairs, and also by the councils of the confederacy. 

Those persons who composed it assimilated in faith, and almost as 
a necessary consequence, they soon did so in politics.* They went 
off in small parties, secretly, and after they had become embodied 
and located, they were regarded, in effect, as foreign Indians, and 
were never recognized or admitted to a seat in the confederacy. The 
feeling caused by this separation, among the tribes themselves, 
amounted to bitterness, and it is a feeling which, I had occasion to 
observe on one occasion, is not forgotten by the existing cantons 
even at this day. 

The St. Regis colony increased rapidly, but had some extra stim- 
ulants to promote its growth, its success being equally dear to the 
political and ecclesiastical policy of France. It became a thorn to 
the frontier towns and settlements of New-Enjiland, durinfr the 
whole of the old French war, so called, and of the American revo- 
lution. Some of the forays of this band into the Connecticut valley 
were productive of thrilling and heart rending events, as those must 
have realized who have had their youthful sympathies excited by 
narrations of the touching captivities of the Hows and the Williams, 
of that valley. 

When the 54° parallel came to be drawn, under the provision of 
the treaty of Ghent, it cut the St. Regis settlement unequally in 
two, leaving the church and the larger portion of the Indian popula- 
tion within the bounds of Canada. Those who reside within the 
limits of New-York, numbered, the past summer, three hundred and 
sixty souls. 

• Some exceptions to this existed. The noted chief called Col. Louis, who rrmifrcd 
the American cause such essential service, during the siege of Fort Stanwix, in 1777, 
was of the St. Regis tribe, agreeably to information given to me, at Oneida CuU», lh« 
present year, by Abraham Dennic. 



No. 24.] 73 



[11. EPOCH AND PRINCIPLES OF y\\\] l]{()Qrois 

LEAGUE. 



[a.] 

Something on this head appears desirable, if it be only to mitigate, 
an some degree, our historical ignorance, and want of accurate or 
precise information, touching it. The question of the principles of 
their social and political association, is one of equal interest and ob- 
scurity, and would justify a more extended inquiry than is here 
given. 



[b.] Era of the Confederation. 

Chronology finds its most difficult tasks in establishing dates among 
our aboriginal tribes. Pyrlaus, a missionary at the ancient site of 
Dionderoga or Fort Hunter, writing between 1742 and 1748, states, 
as the result of the best conjectures he could form, from information 
derived from the Mohawks, that the alliance took place " one age, or 
the length of a man's life, before the white people came into the 
country."* He gives the following as the names of the sachems of 
the Five Nations, who met and formed the alliance : 

To GANAWiTA, /or the Mohawks. 
Otatschechta, _/br the Oneidas. 
TatotarhOj for the Onondagas. 
ToGAHAYON,yb?' the Cayugas. 
Ganiatario, 



Satagaruyes 



for the Senecas. 



The ixame of Thannawage is given as the first proposer of such 
an alliance. He was an aged Mohawk sachem. It was decided that 

• Trans. Hist, and Lit. Com. Am. Pliilo. '?oc. vol. 1, p. 3«. 

[Senate, No. 24.J 10 



74 [Senate 

these names should forever be kept in remembrance by naming a per^^ 
son in each nation, through succeeding generations, after them. 

Taking 1609, the era of the Dutch discovery^ and estimating " a 
man's life" by the patriarchal and scriptural rule, we should not at 
the utmost have a more remote date than 1539,* as the origin of the 
confederacy. This would place the event IS years after the taking 
of Mexico by Cortes, and 47 years after the first voyage of Colum- 
bus. Cartier, who ascended the St. Lawrence to Hochelaga, the pre- 
sent site of Montreal, in 1535, demonstrates clearly, by his vocabu- 
larv of words, that a people who spoke a branch of the Iroquois lan- 
guage, was then at the place. This people is usually supposed to 
have been the Wyandots, or Hurons. But he makes no remark on a 
confederacy. He only denotes the attachment of the people to an; 
old and paralytic sachem, or head chief, who wore a frontlet of dyed 
porcupine's skin.f 

Curious to obtain some clue to this era, or test of the preceding- 
data, I made it a topic of inquiry. The Onondagas, the Tascaroras,, 
and the several bands, unite in a general tradition of the event 
of a confederacy, at the head of which they place Atotarho, (the 
same doubtless whose name is spelt Tatotarho above,) but amongst 
neither of these tribes is the era fixed. The dates employed by Cu- 
sick, theTuscarora legendary, giving an extravagant antiquity to the 
confederation, are more entitled to the sympathy of the poet than the 
attention of the historian, although other traditions stated by him 
debarring the dates, may be regarded as the actual traditions of his 
tribe. Were the dates moderate, w^hich he generally employs to con- 
fer antiquity on his nation, they might inspire respect. But like the 
Chinese astronomers, he loses no little as a native archaeologist, by 
aspiring after too much. 

Atotarho, who by these traditions was an Onondaga, is the great 
embodiment of Iroquois courage, wisdom and heroism, and in their 
narrations he is invested with allegoric traits, which exalt him to a 
kind of superhuman character. Unequalled in war and arts, his 
fame had spread abroad and exalted the Onondaga nation to the high- 



• For other ilata on this topic, see the subsequent paper, entitled " Onondagas," in 
■which an earlier date is assigoed. See also the article "Oral Traditions." 
f Oncota, p. 



IS'o. 24.] 75 

^•st pitch. He was placed at the head of the coTifederacv, and his 
<name, like that of King Arthur of the Round Tabic, or those of the 
Paladins of Charlemagne, was used after his ilealh as an exemplar of 
glory and honor ; while like that of Cffisar, it became perpetuated as 
Ihe official title of the presiding chief. What is said by Pyrlaus re- 
respecting the mode of the transmission of the names of the first dele- 
gates to the council forming the confederacy, appears to be probable. 
It is true, so far as is known, but it seems that not only the name of 
the ruling chief, but the title of each minor officer in the council, as 
he who presents the message ; he who stands by the chief or Atotarho, 
&c. is preserved to this day by its being the name of an individual 
who exercises a similar office. 

The best light I could personally obtain from tradition of the date 
of the event, viz. the era of the confederacy, came through a tradi- 
tion handed down from Ezekiel Webster, an American, who at an 
early day settled among the Onondagas, learned their language, mar- 
ried the daughter of a chief, and became himself a man of great in- 
fluence among them. Mr. Tyler of Seneca-Falls, son of one of the 
first settlers in the present county of Onondaga, informed me in a 
casual interview at Aurora, on the 13th of August, that his father 
had received this account from Webster's own lips, namely, that the 
confederation, as related by the Onondagas, took place about the 
length of one man's life before the white men appeared. A remark- 
able confirmation of the statement of Pyrlaus.* It must be admitted, 
however, that we cannot, without rejecting many positive trailiiions 
of the Iroquois themselves [D.] refuse to concede a much earlier 
period to the first attempts of these interesting tribes to form a gene- 
ral political association. For eighty years before the American Re- 
volution they, in friendly recommendation, held up their confederacy 
as a political model to the English colonies. (See Colden.) Their 
own first attempts to form themselves into one nation may iiave 
borne the same relation to them and their subsequent condition as our 
early confederation of States bears to the present Union ; and this, 
instead of lasting a few years, as did ours, may have continued even 
for centuries, among so rude a people, before it could ripen into the 
bonds of empire. 



• A Seneca tradition which is hereafter noticed, places the event of the eoDftdentioa 

four years before the appearance of Hudson in his ship, in the bay of New- York. 



76 [Senate 

Two elementary powers existed at an early Jay in the Iroquois 
cantons, namely, the civil and war chieftainships. There is abundant 
evidence, both in their own traditions, and in existing aiitiquarian 
remains, to show that they were at variance, in the early periods of 
their history, and fought against each other, and built fortifications 
to defend themselves. Partial leagues would naturally fail. League 
after league probably took place. When they came to see the folly 
of such a course, and proposed to confederate on enlarged princi- 
ples, and direct their arms exclusively against others, the question 
doubtless arose, how they should be represented in the general coun- 
cil. It is clear, from the preceding remarks on the era of the con- 
federation, whatever age we assign to the era itself, that the Rakow- 
anas,* or leading chiefs of each of the five cantons, did not assemble. 
Power was assigned to, and concentrated on one individual, who 
stood as the federal representative of his canton in its sovereign ca- 
pacity. It was only to the Senecas that two representatives, of this 
senatorial dignity, were assigned ; a conclusive evidence that they 
were, at this era, estimated at double the numerical strength of the 
highest of the other four cantons. By these six men, v/ho appear 
ratiier in the capacity of ambassadors, forming the principles of a 
treaty, or league, the modern confederacy, as known to us, was or- 
ganized. Tradition says that this treaty of alliance was held at 
Onondaga, where the central council fire of the confederacy, organ- 
ized under it, was also originally fixed, and has permanently re- 
mained. Of the nature and powers of this general council, or con- 
gress of sachems, acting for the whole cantons, some views are 
expressed in the following paper. 



[c] Principles of the Iroquois Government. 

No one has attended to the operations of the Iroquois government 
and polity, as they are developed in their councils and meetings for 
general consultation and action, without perceiving a degree of intri- 
cacy in its workings, which it is diflScult to grasp. Or rather, the 
obscurity may be said to grow out of the little time and the imperfect 
opportunities which casual observes have to devote to the object. 

• Mohawk. 



No. 24.] 77 

For, maturely considered, there is no inherent (HfTirulty in the way. 
It seems clear that they came together as indepmdent tribes, who, ai 
an early age, had all proceeded from the same parental stock, but 
who, after an indefinite period of fightings and wars, became con- 
vinced of the short-sightedness of such a course, and fell on the plan 
of a confederation which should produce general action, anil yei 
leave the several members free, both in their internal polity, and in 
the exercise of most of their co-tribal powers. It was clearly a con- 
federation for common purposes of defence and offence, and not a 
perfect union. Each tribe, or more properly speaking, canton, was 
still governed by its own chiefs, civil and military. They came 
together in general councils, by sachems, exercising the power of 
delegates. 

These delegates or sages came in their hereditary or elective cha- 
racter, as the case might be, or as the customs and laws of the tribe 
in its popular character had decided. But their voices were, m all 
cases, either prompted by prior expressions of the warriors and wise 
men, or were to be ratified by these known powers. However in- 
vested with authority they but spoke the popular will. The relative 
power of the cantons is denoted, and appears as a question that was 
already settled, at the first formal general council for the purpose of 
confederating. For we there see precisely the same tribal represen- 
tation, which has obtained ever after and still prevails ; that is to 
say, the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, and the Cayugas, 
had each one chief, and the Senecas two, making six supreme digni- 
taries or state counsellors. That their powers were merely advisory 
and interlocutory, and that they aimed to come to harmonious result.s, 
by the mere interchange of opinion, without any formal or solemn 
vote, is evident, from all that we know, or can gather from their slill 
existing institutions. There appeared to have been no penalties — 
no forfeiture of rights — no binding or coercive power, to be visited 
on tribes or chiefs beyond that of opinion. Popular disapproval was 
the Iroquois penalty here and elsewhere. It is equally clear, how- 
ever, that a single negative voice or opinion, was of the highest effi- 
cacy. A unanimous decision, not a decision, on the majority princi- 
ple, was required. The latter was a refinement, and an advance in 
polity, which they had not certainly reached, although they soero 
inclined now to follow it ; and herein we niay perceive ihc i»reat 



78 [Senate 

power and efficacy of their old decisions. These decisions were, in 
their effects, clothed with all the power of the most full popular will. 
For what each of the senatorial chiefs or delegates, and all the can- 
tons, pronounced proper, there was no one, in a patriarchal commu- 
nity, to lisp a word against. 

So little power was abstracted from each tribe, and conceded to the 
federative council as a fixed government, that it seems not without 
scrutiny, that we can perceive there is any. This is, however, 
certain. One of the six primary sachems, was selected to preside 
over the general councils. His power was, however, exclusively of 
a civil character, and extended but little beyond that of a moderator, 
but he was a moderator for life, or during the time he retained the 
right and full use of his faculties, or until just cause of dissatisfaction 
should bring the question of a successor before the council. This 
head officer, had also authority to light the council fire, — that is to 
say, he could send messengers, and was if so desired, bound to send 
messengers to assemble the general council. The act, and the symbol 
of the act were both in his hands. He summoned the chiefs, and 
actually lit the sacred fire, at whose blaze their pipes w^ere lighted. 
Thus limited, and having no other administrative power, but to ap- 
point his own Har-yar-do-ah,aid or pipe-bearer, and messengers, he 
enjoyed his executive dignity ; but had little more power when the 
sessions were closed, than belonged to every leading chief of the 
component tribes. He was himself bound to respect the messages 
of the tribal chiefs, and receive the runners who were sent to him 
from the frontiers with news, and he thus performed merely and 
exactly the will of each tribe, thus expressed. He was never in 
advance of the popular will. The whole hereditary machinery was 
made subservient to this. And he was limited to the perform- 
ance of these slender, and popular duties. He might, it is true, if a 
man of eloquence, talents or bravery, be also the ruling civil chief 
of his tribe, and furthermore, its war captain in the field. And such 
is known to have actually been the character and standing of Atotar- 
ho, the first presiding chief in their federative councils. He was 
a man of energy and high renow'n. And such was the estimation 
in which he was held in his life time, and the popular veneration for 
his character after death, that as above denoted, his name became the 
distinctive title for the office. Thus much is preserved by tradi- 



No. 24. J 79 

tion, and the office and title of the Atotaiho as presiding sachem is 
not yet extinct, although the tribes have no longer wars to prosecute, 
or foreign embassadors to reply to. 

But how, it may be asked, is a government so purely popular, ;ind 
so simple and essentially advisory in its character, to be reconciled 
with the laws of hereditary desent, fixed by the establishment of 
heraldic devices, and bringing its proportion of weak and incompe- 
tent minds into office, and with the actual power it exercised, and the 
fame it acquired 1 To answer this question, and to shew how the 
aristocratic and democratic principles were made to harmonize, in the 
Iroquois government, it will be necessary to go back, and examine the 
law of desent among the tribes, together with the curious and intri- 
cate principles of the Toxemic Bond. 

Nothing is more fully under the cognizance of observers of the 
manners and customs of this people, than the fact of the entire mass 
of a canton or tribe's being separated into distinct clans, each of 
which is distinguished by the name and device of some quadruped, 
bird, or other object in the animal kingdom. This device is called, 
among the Algonquins, (where the same separation into families or 
clans, exists,) Totem, and we shall employ the term here, as being 
already well known to writers. But while the Algonquins have made 
no other use of it, but to trace consanguinity, or at least, remote 
affinities of families, and while they have also separated into wild 
independencies and tribes, who have assumed new tribal names, and 
wandered and crossed each other's track and boundaries in a thousand 
ways, the Iroquois have turned it to account by assuming it as the 
very basis of their political and tribal bond. How far fixity of ter- 
ritorial possession and proximity of location may have favored or led 
to the establishment of this new bond, need not be inquired into 
here, but, while we express no opinion favorable to the remote anti- 
quity of their residence in the north, it must be evident that this tic 
would have lost all its binding force if the Alleghanies, the Great 
Lakes, or any other very wade geographical areas, had been interpo- 
sed between them, and thus interrupted frequent and full intercour'-.e 
and united action. A government wholly verbal, must be conceded 
to have required this proximity and nearness of access. The Sene- 
cas may be selected as an example of the influence of the Totemic 
bond. This canton is still the most numerous of the existing Iro- 



80 [Senate 

quois tribes. By the recent census, the results of which accompany 
these papers, they number over two thousand four hundred souls. 
This population is, theoretically, separated into eight clans or ori- 
ginal families, who are distinguished respectively by the totems of 
the wolf, the bear, the turtle, the deer, the beaver, the falcon, the 
crane and the plover. Theory at this time, founded doubtless an 
actual consanguinity in their inceptive age, makes these clans 
brothers. It is contrary to their usages that near kindred should in- 
termarry, and the ancient rule interdicts all intermarriage between 
persons of the same clan. They must marry into a clan whose totem 
is different trom their own. A wolf or turtle male cannot marry a 
wolf or turtle female. There is an interdict of consanguinity. By 
this custom the purity of blood is preserved, while the tie of rela- 
tionship between the clans themselves is strengthened or enlarged. 

But by far the most singular principle connected with totems, the 
sign manur.l of alliance, is the limitation of descent exclusively to the 
line of the female. Owing to this prohibition, a chieftain's son 
cannot succeed him in office, but in case of his death, the right of 
descent being in the chief's mother, he would be secceeded not by 
one of his male children, but by his brother ;* or failing in this, by 
the son of his sister, or by some direct, however remote, descendant 
of the maternal line. Thus he might be succeeded by his own grand- 
son, by a daughter, but not by a son. It is in this way that the 
line of chieftainships is continually deflected or refreshed, and fa- 
mily dynasties broken up. 

While the law of descent is fully recognized, the free will of the 
female to choose a husband, from any of the other seven clans, ex- 
cluding only her own, is made to govern and determine the distribu- 
tion of political power, and to fix the political character of the tribe. 
Another peculiarity may be here stated. The son of a chief's daugh- 
ter is necessarily destined to inherit the honors of the chieftainship'; 
yet the validity of the claim must, on his reaching the proper age, 
be submitted to and recognized by a council of the whole canton. 
If approved, a day is appointed for the recognition, and he is for- 
mally installed into office. Incapacity is always, however, without 



• Thus Ilenilrick, who feU at the battle of Lake George, in 1755, was succeeded, in 
the Mohawk canton, by his brother Abraham, and not by his son. 



No. 24.] 81 

exception, recognized as a valid objection to the approval of the 
council. 

Had this law of descent prevailed among the Jews, wliose custoras 
have been so often appealed to, in connection with our red race 
neither David nor Solomon would ever have sat on the throne. It 
would be easy, did the purposes of this paper require it, to show bv 
other references the futility of the proofs, derived from the supposed 
coincidence of customs, which have been brought forward with so 
much learning, and so little of the true spirit of research, to prove 
the descent of the American aborigines from that ancient and pecu- 
liar people. But if theorists have failed on this ground, what shall 
we say of that course of reasoning which lays much stress on the 
most slender evidences of nativity, in the instance of the fjreat 
Mohawk sachem, to prove the superior chances of recurring talent 
in the line of hereditary descent, and the legitimacy of his actual 
claims to the chieftainship, on the score of paternal right 1* Vide 
Appendix C, notes at Oneida Castle. 

What was true of the totemic organization of the Senecas, was 
equally so of the Mohawks, and of each of the other cantons. Each 
canton consisted, like the Senecas, of the clans of the wolf, bear, tur- 
tle, beaver, deer, falcon, plover and crane. But each of these clans 
were increments of re-organizations of one of the eight original clans. 
They were brothers, and appealed to their respective totems as a 
proof of original consanguinity. They were entitled to the same 
rites of hospitality, in the lodges of their affiliated totems abroad, 
that thev were entitled to at home. The affiliated mark on the lodge 
was a sufficient welcome of entrance and temporary abode. It re- 
sults, therefore, that there were but eight original family clans, esti- 
mating at the maximum number existing in six cantonal departments, 
or tribes, and that the entire six tribes were bound togetlier politi- 
cally by these eight family ties. As a matter of course, each clan 



• This remark is not made to depreciate the literary merits of the esteemed ind la- 
mented author of the Life of Drant, but as being simply duo to the cause of truth. Few 
men have better earned the respect and remembrance of the public Uian William L. 
Stone, whose whole life was an example of what energy and talent* can achirvc. It 
was not, indeed, to be expected that the incessant duties of the diurnal press ihould per- 
mit historical scrutiny into a matter, very obscure in itself, and of which the daUilt ar« 
only to be gleaned after laborious search at remote points. 

[Senate, No. 24.] 11 



"> 82 [Senatk 

was not equally numerous in each tribe. This would depend on ac- 
cidental circumstances and natural laws ; but it is an argument in 
favor of the antiquity of the people, or the confederacy, that each 
of the tribes had organized in each of the respective clans. For we 
cannot suppose that at first there was a systematic, far less, an equal' 
division of the clans, or that their original separation into separate 
tribes, or cantons, was the result of a considerate formal public act. 
This would be to reverse the ordinary progress of tribes and na- 
tions who, in early ages, separate from circumstances and causes 
wholly casual, such as the ambition or feuds of chiefs, the desire of 
finding better places to live, easier means of subsistence, &c. 

In the condition of a people, living in a governmeut so purely pa- 
triarchal, following game for a subsistence, and making wars to en- 
large or defend their hunting grounds, the oldest and most respected 
man of his clan or totem, would necessarily be its sachem or political 
head. We must assume that to be a fixed and settled principle of 
their simple constitution and verbal laws, which appears, from all we 
know, to have been so. Letters, they had none, and their traditions 
on this head are to be gleaned from scattered and broken sources 
which do not always coincide. 

If each clan had its leading sachem or chief, there were eight prin- 
cipal chiefs in each canton. Consequently, when the confederacy 
consisted of five cantons, there were forty Rakowanas,* or head 
chiefs. These were the recognizei leaders and magistrates in the vil- 
lages ; but in effect, in a community thus constituted, each Rakowanr^ 
or ruling chief of a clan, has a number of aids, Mishinawasf and mi- 
nor officials, who were also regarded as semi-sachems, or chiefs. 
This number is always indefinite and fluctuating, but may be supposed 
to be, in relation to the ruling Rakowana, as at least five to one. 

This would give to each canton forty inferior chiefs, and to the 
five cantons, tvi-o hundred, denoting a distribution of power and civil 
organization, which acting in union must have been very efficacious ; 
and the more so, when we consider that all their political movements 
were entirely of a popular cast, and carried with them the voice of 
every man in the canton. 

• Mohawk. \ Algonquin. 



No. 24.] 83 

This appears to have been the standing civil orrranization ; but it 
was entirely independent of the military system. War cliiffs appear 
ever to have derived their authority from courage and capacity in war, 
and to have riseii up as they were required in each canton. The Te- 
karahogea, or war captain, founded his rights and powers in the In- 
dian camp, on former triumphs and present capacity ; but the oflTice 
does not aj)peiir to have been a general one recognized by their con- 
stitution. All males were bound to render military service by cus- 
tom andopiiiion, but by nothing else. Disgrace and cowardice were 
the penalties, but they were penalties more binding than oaths or 
bonds am-ong civilized oommunities, and always kept their ranks full. 
All war parties were, of course, volunteers. It seems that all able- 
l)odied males over fourteen were esteemed capable of taking the war 
path; the early development of martial power being considered of all 
traits the most honorable. No title was more honored than that of 
Roskeahragehte,* or Warrior, 

There was no baggage to encumber the march of an Iroquois army. 
The decision of Alexander and the policy of Bonaparte were alike 
unnecessary here. Each Iroquois warrior supplied and carried his 
own arms and provisions. He joined the war danu', the analogous 
ievjn for enlistment, for the particular expedition in hand. If it failed, 
or another force was required, other captains called for other volun- 
teers, anil sung their war songs to inflame the ardor, of the young. 
Taunts and irony of the deepest character were, on these occasions, 
flung at the character of the enemy. The war chief lifted his toma- 
hawk as if actually engaged in combat, and in imagination he stamped 
his enemy under foot, while he symbolically tore off his scalp, and 
uttered his sharp Sasakwon,t or war whoop. 

If it be inquired why this people, with so comparatively small a 
population, carried their wars to such an extent, and acquired, pro- 
bably in no great time, so wide a sway and power over the other 
tribes of the continent, the reply will appear, in a great measure, in 
this efficient war organization. It may be said that other tribes bad 
the same principles. But these eastern and western tribes had feeble 
or divided counsels. Each tribe was a sovereignty by itself, and 
their powers were tasked by home wars, without attempts at r.-mote 

• Mohawk. t AJgonquin. 



84 [Senate 

conquest. There is nothing to denote that the number of war chiefs 
was ever settled or fixed. Time and chance determined this, as we 
observe it in the Algonquin and other American stocks. Fixity, in 
the number of the civil chiefs, was indeed rather a theory than ari 
actuality, and the number must have been perpetually fluctuating, 
according to obvious circumstances. 

But while the theory of the Iroquois government thus distributed 
its powers between two classes of chiefs, one of which ruled in the 
council, and the other in the field, there was a third power of con- 
trolling influence in both, which respected, it is true, this ancient 
theory, but which annulled, confirmed, originated, or set aside all 
other power. I allude to the popular will as exercised by the war- 
riors. Whatever was proposed had to come under the voice of the 
armed men, who had the free right, at all times, to assemble in coun- 
cil, and put their approval or veto on every measure. Practically 
considered, a purer democracy, perhaps, never existed. The chiefs 
themselves bad no power in advance of public sentiment, or else it 
was their policy, as we see it at this day, to express no such power, 
but rather to keep, in abeyance of, or be the mere agents of the popu- 
lar will. In all negociations such absolute power is disclaimed bj 
them. Acting on principles of the highest diplomacy, they invaria- 
bly defer general answers, until a reference can be had to the war- 
riors or men. They risk nothing by taking grounds in doubtful 
positions in advance, and the consequence is that the results of most 
Indian councils are unanimous. 

There was yet a reserved power in the Iroquois councils which 
deserves to be mentioned. I allude to the power of the matrons. 
This was an acknowledged power of a conservative character, which 
might, at all times, be brought into requisition, whenever policy 
required it. And it exists to-day as incontestibly as it did centuries 
ago. They were entrusted with the power to propose a cessation of 
arms. They were literally peace-makers. A proposition from the 
matrons to drop the war club could be made without compromitting 
the character of the tribe for bravery ; and accordingly, we find, in 
the ancient organization, that there was a male functionary, an ac- 
knowledged speaker, who was called the representative or messenger 
of the matrons. These matrons^sat in council, but it must needs 



No. 24.] 85 

have been seldom that a female possessed the kind of eloquence suit- 
able to public assemblies ; and beyond this there was a sentiment of 
respect due to the female class, which led the tribes, al their general 
organization, to create this office. 

Councils, so organized — so perpetually and truly swayed by popu' 
lar will, gave the greatest scope for eloqucncL-. Eloquence, in the 
aborigines, takes the place entirely of books and letters. It is the 
only means of acting on the multitude, and we find that it was, 
from the earliest times, strenuously and successfully cultivated by the 
Iroquois.^ By far the best and most abundant specimens of native 
eloquence we possess are from this stock. And their liistory is re- 
plete in proofs that they employed it, not only in ihcir internal 
affairs and negociations, but in teaching to appreciate their rights 
and the principles of their government. 



[d.] Ancient Worship. 

SACRED FIRE. — THE SUN A SYMBOL OF DIVINE IXTELI.IGENCE . 

It was a striking peculiarity of the ancient religious system of the 
Iroquois that, once a year, the priesthood supplied the people 
with sacred fire. For this purpose, a set time was announced for the 
ruling priest's visit. The entire village was apprized of this visit, 
and the master of each lodge was expected to be prepared for this 
annual rite. Preliminary to the visit, his lodge fire was carefully 
put out and ashes scattered about it, as a symbolic sign of desolation 
and want. Deprived of this element, they were also deprived of its 
symbolic influence, the sustaining aid and countenance of the su- 
preme power, whose image they recognized in the sun. 

It w^as to relieve this want, and excite hope and animation in 
breasts which had throbbed with dread, that the priest visited the 
lodge. Exhibiting the insignia of the sacerdotal office, he proceeded 
to invoke the Master of Life in their behalf, and ended his mission 
by striking fire from the flint, or from percussion, and lighting anew 



gg [Senate 

the domestic fire. The lodge was then swept and garnished anew, 
and a feast succeeded. 

This sacred service annually performed, had the effect to fix and 
increase the reverence of the people for the priestly office. It acted 
as a renewal of their ecclesiastical fealty ; and the consequence was, 
that the institution of the priesthood among these cantons was deeply 
and firmly seated. Whether this rite had any connection with the 
period of the solstices, or with the commencement of the lunar year, 
is not known, but is highly probable. That men living in the open 
air, who are regardful of the celestial phenomena, should not have 
noted the equinoxes, is not probable. They must have necessarily 
known the equinoxes by the observation of capes and mountains, 
which cast their shadows from points and describe angles so very 
diverse at the periods of the sun's greatest recession, or return. Yet 
we know not that the time of such extreme withdrawal and return 
marked and completed the circle of the year. Their year was, in 
all the Algonquin tribes, a lunar year. It consisted of thirteen moons, 
each of which is distinctly named. Thirteen moons of 28 days 
each, counting from visible phase to phase, make a year of 364 days, 
which is the greatest astronomical accuracy reached by the North 
American tribes. 

That the close of the lunar series should have been the period of 
putting out the fire, and the beginning of the next, the time of relu- 
mination, from new fire, is so consonant to analogy in the tropical 
tribes, as to be probable. 

The rite itself offers a striking coincidence, with that solemn per- 
formance at the close of each year, by the Azteek priests, in the val- 
ley of Mexico, and may not unreasonably be supposed to denote a 
common origin for the belief. The northern tribes had, however, 
dropped from the ritual, if it ever was in it, that of their remote an- 
cestors, the horrid rite so revolting in the Azteek annals, of human 
sacrifice. For although prisoners were burned at the stake, this was 
not an act of the priesthood. It was a purely popular effervescence 
of revenge for losses of friends in war, or some other acts done by 
the enemy. Such sacrifices appeased the popular cry — all classes, 
young and old, rejoiced in them. They were looked on alone as an 
evidence of their nation's power ; and by it the warriors also shewed 



No. 24.] 87 

their regard for the relations of the bereaved. Tlie widow of the warrior 
dried her tears. The chihlren rejoiced— they hardly knew why— il 
was the triumph of the nation. And they wore thus educated to 
regard the public burning of prisoners as a proper and glorious deed. 
Women, indeed, rejoiced in it apparently mort- than men. It sceraed 
a solace for the loss of their progeny. And all authors agree in attri- 
buting to the older females the most extravagant and n-pulsiv? acU 
of participation and rejoicing in these warlike ritts. 



[e.] Witchcraft. 

The belief in witchcraft prevailed extensively amon<T the North 
American tribes. It is known that even in modern times, it was one 
of the principal means used by the Shawnee j)rophet to rid himself 
of his opponents, and that the venerable Shawnee chief Tarhe and 
others w^ere sacrificed to this diabolical spirit. 

Among the Iroquois the belief was universal, and its etfects upon 
their prosperity and population, if tradition is to be credited, were ai 
times appalling. The theory of the popular belief, as it existed in 
the several cantons, was this. The witches and wizzards constituted 
a secret association, which met at night to consult on mischief, and 
each was bound to inviolable secrecy. They say this fraternity first 
arose among the Nanticokes. A witch or wizzard had power to turn 
into a fox or wolf, and run very swift, emitting flashes of light. 
They could also transform themselves into a turkey or big owl, and 
fly very fast. If detected, or hotly pursued, they could change into 
a stone or rotten log. They sought carefully to procure the poison 
of snakes or poisonous roots, to efl'ect their purposes. They could 
blow hairs or worms into a person. [D.] 

While in Onondaga, James Gould, one of the original settlers on 
the Military Tract, told me that he had been intimate with Webster, 
the naturalized Onondaga, who told him many things respecting the 
ancient laws and customs of this people. Amongst them there was 
a curious reminiscence on the subject of witchcraft, ^^ebster had 



88 fSENATK 

heard this from an aged Onondaga, whom he conversed with during 
a visit which he once made to Canada. This Onondaga said that he 
had formerly lived near the old church on the Kasonda creek, near 
Jamesville, where there was in old times a populous Indian village. 
One evening, he said, whilst he lived there, he stepped out of his 
lodge, and immediately sank ia the earth, and found himself in a large 
room, surrounded by three hundred witches and wizzards. Next 
morning he went to the council and told the chiefs of this extraordi- 
nary occurrence. They asked him whether he could not identify the 
persons. He said he could. They then accompanied him on a visit to 
all the lodges, where he pointed out this and that one, who were marked 
for execution. Before this inquiry was ended, a very large number of 
persons of both sexes were killed. He said * hundred. 

Another tradition says that about fifty persons were burned to death 
at the Onondaga castle for witches. [D.] 

The delusion prevailed among all the cantons. The last persons 
executed for witchcraft among the Oneidas, suffered about forty years 
ago. They were two females. The executioner was the notorious 
Hon Yost of revolutionary memory. He entered the lodge, accord- 
ing to a prior decree of the Council, and struck them down with a 
tomahawk. One was found in the lodge ; the other suffered near the 
lodge door. [B. ] 



[ /.] Wife's Right to Property, 

Marriage, among the Iroquois, appears to be a verbal contract be- 
tween the parties, which does not affect the rights of property. 
Goods, personal effects, or valuables of any kind, personal or real, 
which were the wife's before, remain so after marriage. Should any 
of these be used by the husband, he is bound to restore the property 
or its worth, in the event of separation. It is not uncommon at pre- 
sent to find a husband indebted to a wife for moneys loaned of her, 

• Having doubts, I omit to (ill this blank. 



No. 24.] 89 

derived from payments or property, which she owned, and still owns, 
in her own right ; and it is a cause of union in some cases where, 
without this obligation, a separation would ])r()bably ensue. 

Marriage is therefore a personal agreement, requiring neither civil 
nor ecclesiastical sanction, but not a union of the riglits of property. 
Descent being counted by the female, may be either an original cause 
or effect of this unique law. 

i 



[Senate, No. 24.] 12 



No. 24.] 31 



IV. ARCHJIOLOGY 



In considering the subject of American antiquities u mav i.-xilunn 
the object, to erect separate eras of occupancy, to which the facts 
may be referred. Such a division of the great and almost unknown 
period, which preceded the arrival of Europeans, will at least serve 
as convenient points to concentrate, arrange and compare the facts 
and evidences brought forward ; and may enable the observer the 
better to proceed in any future attempts to generalize. 

There appear to have been three eras in the aborigmal occupancy 
of the continent, or more strictly speaking, three conditions of occu- 
pancy, which may be conveniently grouped as eras, although the pre- 
cise limits of thcra, may be matters of some uncertainty. To make 
this uni ertainty less than it now is, and to erect these eras on proba- 
ble foundations, the proofs drawn from monuments, mounds, fortifica- 
tions, ditches, earth-works, barrows, implements of art, and what- 
ever other kind of evidence antiquity affords, may, it is thoujiht, be 
gathered together in something like this shape, namely : 

1. Vestiges and proofs of the original era ol the abori'^anal raJTa- 
tion from other parts of the globe. These, so far as arts or evi- 
dences of a material character are denoted, must necessarily be ex- 
ceedingly limited, if any, cf undoubted authenticity, shall indeed 
now be found. The departments of physiology, and philology, 
which have heretofore constituted the principal topics of research, 
are still an attractive, and by no means a closed field. 

2. Proofs and vestiges of their continental migrations, wars, aiTmi- 
ties and general ethnological characteristics, prior to thcflisrnvcry of 
the continent. Such are the grouping of languages ; the similarity, 
or dissimilarity of arts, modes of defence, and means of subsistence. 



92 [Senate 

Proofs and vestiges of occupancy, change, and progress, subse- 
quent to the Columbian period. 

With regard to the first era, it is almost wholly the subject of gen- 
eral and profound scientific and philosophical investigations, which 
require a union of great advantages for successful study. The second 
and third eras, fall within the compass of ordinary observation. 
Both kinds of proof may exist at the very same localities. They do 
not necessarilyjimply diverse or remote geographical positions. We 
know that some of the leading tribes, the Cherokees, (till within a few 
years,) and the Iroquois, for instance, have continued to live in the 
very same positions in which they were found by the first explorers. 

As their chiefs and warriors (bed, they carried to their places of 
burial, (such was the result of ancient and general custom,) those 
kinds of ornaments, ^arms and utensils, w^hich were the distinguishing 
tokens of art, of the several eras in which they lived. 

The coming of European races among them introduced fabrics of 
metal, earths, enamels, glass, and other materials more or less dura- 
ble, and capable of resisting decomposition. These would necessa- 
rily take the place of the aboriginal articles of stone and shell, before 
employed. 

If, then, places of sepulture were permanent, the inquirer at the 
present day would find the various fabrics of the second and the third 
era, in the same cemeteries and burial grounds, and sometimes in the 
same barrows and mounds. 

Modes of defence would also alter by the introduction of the second 
period. The simple ring-fort, with palisades, crowning a hill, which 
would serve as a place of excellent defence, against bows and ar- 
rows and clubs, would prove utterly useless, as the Tuscaroras found 
at Naharuke in 1712, after the introduction of artillery. A trench 
to obtain water, from a spring or creek, leading from one of the 
works of the older period, might have been so covered as to afford 
full protection from the simple aboriginal missiles. Besides this, 
the combination of several tribes, as the Iroquois, the Algonquins, 
the Eries, Alleghans and others, might render these simple forts, de- 
fended with ditches, mounds, and otherwise, no longer necessary, in 



No. 24.] 93 ^ 

the interior of their territory, after the time of such j:;encral totubi 
nations or confederacies. And in this case, these works wouhl be 
deserted and become ruins, long before the period ol Uie ilistoverN. 

It is affirmed by their traditions, that, in the ohlt-r periods of their 
occupancy of this continent, they were even obliged, or their fears 
suggested the measure, to build coverts and forts to protect them- 
selves and families from the inroads of monsters, giants and gitnintic 
animals. We are not at liberty to disregard this, be the recitals sym- 
bolic or true. Such places would atTord convenient shelters for their 
women and children, at the particular times of such inroads, while 
the warriors collected to make battle against the common ennny. 
Whether this enemy carried a huge paw or a spear we need not de- 
termine. The one was quite as much an object of aboriginal terror 
as the other. Whatever be the character of the antiquarian object 
to be examined, it will be well to bear in mind these ancient and 
changing conditions of the aboriginal population. If no absolute 
historical light be elicited thereby, we shall be the more likely to get 
rid of some of the confessed darkness enveloping the subject, and 
thus narrow the unsatisfying and historically hateful boundaries of 
mystery. 

In applying these principles to the antiquarian remains of the area 
of western New-York, which has been a theme of frequent allusion 
and description, at least since the life time of De Witt Clinton, it is 
merely propo>ed to offer a few contributions to the store of our anti- 
quities, in the hope that other and abler hands may proceed in the 
investigation. 



[a.] Vestiges of an Ancient Fort or Place of Defence in 
Lenox, Madison county. 

Some years have elapsed since I visited this work,* and the plouqh 
and spade may have further obliterated the lines, then more or less 



• 1812. 



94 



Senate 



fully apparent. But in the meantime no notice of it has been pub- 
lished. The following outlines denote its extent and character. 




A. indicates the lines of a pickctted work.- B. is an extensive 
plain, covered with wild grass and some shrubbery, w'hich had once 
been in cultivation. The northern edge of this plain is traversed by 
a stream, which has worn its bed down in the unconsolidated strata, 
so as to create quite a deep gorge, C. This stream is joined from 
the west, by a small run, having its origin in a spring, D. Its chan- 
nel, at the point of junction, is as deep below the level of the plain 
as the other.* The point of junction itself forms a natural horn- 



• Some few miles below this stream is the site of an iron cupcla or blast furnace, 
where the red or lenticular oxyd is reduced. 



No. 24. J 95 

work, which covered access to the water. The angle of the plain 
thus marked, constituteil the point defended. The excavations K. 
may have once been square. They are now indenlalions, (lisclosing 
carbonaceous matter, as if from the decay of wood. No wood or 
coal, however, existed. Their use in this position is not apparent, 
connected with the designated lines of palisades, unless it be suppos- 
ed that they were of an older period than the latter, and designate 
pits, such as the aborigines used in defence. This idea is favored by 
the ground being a little raised at this point, and so formed that it 
would have admitted the ancient circular Indian palisade. If such 
were tiie case, however, it seems evident that the spot had bevn se- 
lected by the French, at an early period, when, as is known, thev 
attempted to obtain a footing in the country of the Oneidas. The 
distance is less than ten miles northwest of Oneida Castle. It pro- 
bably covered a mission. The site, which my infoiraant, living near, 
called the Old Fre>xh Field, may be supposed to have been culti- 
vated by servants or trailers connected with it. 

The oak and maple trees, which once covered it, as denoted by 
the existing forest, F. F., are such, in size and number, as to have 

required expert axmen to fell. 

With the exception of two points, in the Oneida Creek valley, 
where there are still vestiges of French occupation, supported by tradi- 
tion, this work is the most easterly of those known, which remain to 
testify the adventurous spirit, zeal and perseverance which marked 
the attempt of the French crown to plant the flag and the cross in 
western New- York. 

The bold nature of this scheme to colonize the country, and brinij 
the Iroquois to acknowledge their dependence upon France, and the 
importance of the experiment and the issue, cannot he well conceived 
without reference to the history of those times. Pending the famous 
expedition of the Chevalier de Vandreiul, 1G96, into the Iroquois 
country, it is known that the Jesuit Milet was stationed among the 
the Oneidas, over whom he had so much influence, that soon after 
the termination of this vain display of power, thirty Oneidas di-.«!iTted 
to the French, and desired that Milet might be appointed their 
pastor.* 



• Colden'8 Five Nations, p. 193. 



96 



[Senatr 



[b.] Ancient site of the Onondagas in the valley of the 
Kasonda, or Butternut creek of Jamesville. 

The fact that the ruins of asquare fort, with extensive sub-lines 
in the nature of an enclosure, had existed on the elevated grounds on 
the right banks of this stream, a mile or two from Jamesville, at the 
period of its first settlement, led me to visit it. There was the more 
interest imparted to this well attested tradition of the present inhabi- 
tants, by the accounts of the Onondagas, that this valley, in its extent 
above and below Jamesville, was one of their earliest points of set- 
tlement, prior to the era of their establishing their council fire at 
Onondaga Hollow. The subjoined sketch, although not ploUcd 
from actual measurement, will convey an idea of the relative position 
and former importance of the principal features, geographical and 
artificial, denoted. 






.^v/i^::^'- 






*m >*^,.,s 





•''/""■.,„r,um:mv^illi|^ 






c: G 




^-ir/,:^^ 



No. 24. j 97 

A. indicates the Fite of the fort, which, at the time of mv visit 
was covered with a luxuriant fielil of wheat, without a feature to 
denote that it had ever been held under any other jurisdiction but 
that of the plough. The fiu-m which embraces it, is owned and oc- 
cupied by Isaac Keeler, who remarks that, at the time he came to 
settle here, the site of the old fort was an extensive optnin^^ in the 
forest, bearing grass, with some clumps of wild j)lumb trees, and a 
few forest trees. On this opening, the first regiment of militia that 
ever paraded in Onondaga county, met. It was commanded by 
Major De Witt, after whom the township is now named. 

About the year 1810, he felled an oak, near the site of the fort, 
measuring two feet six inches in diameter. In recutlin*'- it for fire 
wood, after it had been drawn to his door, a leaden bullet was found, 
covered by one hundred and forty-three cortical layers. From its 
position, embedded as it was in the compact wood, it was still some 
distance to the heart of the tree. He thinks this tree may have been 
a sapling when the bullet was fired. Whether this conjecture be 
true or not, one hundred and forty-three years appear to have elapsed 
since the bullet assumed its position. This would give A. D. 1667 
as the era. 

In 1666, the Governor of Canada conjluded a treaty with the 
Onondaga Iroquois, as is seen from the " Paris Documents'' obtained 
by Mr. Broadhead. Colden's history of the Five Nations, which 
has been the principal source of information heretofore, after a brief 
summary of traditionary matter,* i;; the first chapter, opens with the 
transactions in 1665. This matter is more fully and satisfactorily 
stated by Charlevoix in his history of New France, from whom it is 
presumable, Colden drew his information of the former power and 
pre-eminence of the Adirondacks. 

During: this year De Traci came out us viceroy of New-France, 
and the same year ^Monsieur Coursel, who is notorious for his perfidy 
in executing the Iroquois sachem, Agariata, arrived with the commis- 
sion of Governor-General of Canada. But there is little to be found 
bearing directly on the subject before us. 



■ The States General of Holland surrendered New- York to tbe £iif tiah erowa ia 

1664. 

[Senate, No. 24.] 13 



Qc [Senate 

It would appear from the journal of the Jesuit, Father Le Moyr^e, 
as River, in the missionary " Relacions - that the country of the Onon- 
daeas was not discovered and explored until the year 1653. Facts dis^ 
closed by him in the same letter denote, however, prior negociation. 
with the French authorities, and we are probably to understand only that 
as yet, no missionaries frona his or any other order, had visited, or 
been established amongst this tribe. In this view, and from the inci- 
dental light which he throws on some other topics, such as the new 
breaking out of the war with the Fries, the discovery of the salt 
springs, and the existence of the buffalo in the country, this letter is 
important to the early Iroquois history, and a translation of it is 
hereto appended. It is certain that no mission or fort had then 
been introduced. A footing may, however, have been gained by the 
French within the next fourteen years, that is, at the time of the apparent 
date of the existence of the old fort on the right banks of the Ka- 
sonda.* 

Where history fails, we may appeal to tradition and to the proofs 
drawn from antiquarian remains. Isaac Keeler, who is above men- 
tioned, exhibited to me one-half of the brass circle of a dial plate, 
three inches (less two-tenths) in diameter, which had been ploughed 
up by him on the site of the fort, or from that general area. This 
circle had engraved, in good Roman characters, the numbers II, III, 
IV V "VI, VII, VIII. He likewise exhibited the box of a small 
brass pocket compass, with a screw lid one inch and two-tenths in 
diameter. From this instrument the needle had been removed and its 
place supplied by vermillion, the highly prized war pigment of the 
Indians. When plowed up and found at the bottom of a furrow, it 
wrs encrusted with oxide, but restored by washing and friction to its 
original color and even surface. On being opened, it was found to 
contain the pigment, of which I examined a portion. It appeared 
to me to have been, not the Chinese vermillion of the trade, but the 
duller red article, which is, I believe, a peroxide of lead prepared by 
the Dutch. 



• Fire-arms began to be first introdaceil among the Iroquois in 1609, the very year that 
Hudson explored the river now bearing his name. In this year, Champlain, heading 
the Algonquins, with some regular troops, in lake Corlear, (since called Champlain,) 
defeated the Mohawks by the use of fire-arms. 



No. 24.] 99 

Among the articles wliicli he had preserved wer..- the followiog : 

1. A crucifix of brass of two inches in lenjrth, ornamented bv a 
human figure, and having a metallic loop for suspending it. 

2. An octagonal medal, four-tenths of an inch, of the same mate- 
rial, bearing a figure with tlie name "St, Agatha," and the Latin 
word •' ora'' — a part of the Gregorian chant 

3. A similar medal, five-tenths of an inch in length, with ;i tigure, 
'■uscribed " St. Lucia," and the same fragment of a chunt. 

4. A rude medal of lead, an inch and four-tenths long, ovale, with 
the figure of the Savior, as is supposed, being that of a person sus- 
pended by the outstretched hands, however, and tiie figure of a 
serpent, as if this form of temptation liad been presented duiing his 
advent. On the reverse, is a sitting figure, which bears most resem- 
blance to a common and characteristic position of one of the native 
priests or prophets. Should this conjecture be correct, this figure 
raa)^ have been intended, adopting the Indian method, to teach the 
office of the Savior by a symbol. He is thus shown, liowever, to be 
merely the priest and prophet of men — an idea which does not coin- 
cide with Catholic theology, and which, if not enlarged and corrected 
by verbal teaching, would convey no conception of his divint' charac- 
ter and atonement, and thus leave the Onondaga neophyte as essen- 
tially in the dark as before. To figure the Savior as the great Jesu- 
keed of men, as is done in this medal, is indeed the most extraordi- 
nary and audacious act of which the history of missions among rude 
nations affords any parallel. The novelty of this feature in this ap- 
parently home-wrought model, gives it a claim to be hereafter figured. 

5. An iron horse-shoe, four and a half inches long nearly, and five 
inches, lacking two-tenths, broad, with three elongated nail holes in 
,€ach side, and a clumsy steel cork, partially worn. The peculiar 
fabric of this shoe, its clumsiness and spread, and the little mechani- 
cal skill which it evinces in the hammering and general make, dcncte 
it to be very clearly the workmanship of a Canadian blacksmith, 
such as a rude Canadian blacksmith is still to be witnessed, in the 
lake country, and to have been, at the same time, intended for the 
unfarriercd hoofs of the Canadian horse. 

6. A pair of iron strap hinges, common and coarse. These my 
informant had turned to account, by employing them to hang the lit- 



100 (Senate 

tie gate which led, through a small flower plat, to his dwelling house. 
See figure F. 

These articles have been selected for notice from many of more 
common occurrence, such as beads of coarse paste, enamel and glasSy 
of various sizes and colors, which are evidently of European make. 
My informant further stated that a blacksmith's anvil, vice, horn, 
and almost every other article of a smith's shop, had been from time 
to time found on the site or in the vicinity, but there was nothing of 
this kind in his possession. On the south declivity of the hill, near 
the present road leading east to Pompey hill, there is a spring still 
sheltered with shrubbery, which he supposes furnished the fort with 
water. 

This fort constitutes but a part of the very marked evidences of 
former occupancy by man in a civilized state, and in a forgotten age, 
which occur in this portion of Onondaga, chiefly in the present towns 
of Pompey, Lafayette, Dewitt, Camillus and Manlius. For such of 
these evidences as did not pass under ray personal notice, reference is 
made to letter C in the documentary appendix. Other observed loca- 
lities and facts derived from other witnesses, illustrating the character 
of this fort, and of the ancient Indian settlements in the Kasonda 
valley, are marked H in the annexed sketch. 

In this plat B denotes the site of an ancient Onondaga town or 
village, immediately on the banks of the stream, where water could 
be readily obtained for all purposes. C is the locality of the ceme- 
tery used at the period, on the ascending grounds on the north banks 
of the stream. It constitutes a well marked transverse ridge. Im- 
mediately west of it rises a natural mound, marked D, of large size, 
jiearly conical in its shape, and terminating in a flat surface or plain, 
of an ovate border, some twelve by seventeen paces. James Gould, 
the propietor of the land, who, from his residence, guided me to the 
spot, remarks that this conical hill, was formerly covered wdth a hard 
wood forest, similar in its species to those of the surrounding country, 
with the exception of a spot, some four or five paces diameter on its 
apex. This spot was, how^ever, completely veiled from sight by the 
overtopping trees until the arcanum was entered. From the peculiar 
character of this eminence, and its relative position to the village and 
burial ground, it may be supposed to have been the site of the seer's 
lodge, from which he uttered his sacred responses. 



e 
cs a 



No. 24. j lUl 

Speaking of the old lort of Kasonda, this informant remarked, 
that when he came into the country, its outlines could still be traced, 
that it was a square fort, with bastions, and h;id streets witliin it. It 
had been set round with cedar pickets, which had been burned to the 
ground. Stumps of these ancient palisades were struck by th 
plough. It is on this testimony, which at the same time, denot 
violent destruction of the work, that the geometrical figure of it 
represented in A, is drawn. He had, I think, been in the revolution- 
ary army, and drawn his bounty lands, as many of the original set • 
tiers on the military tract had done. lie kiuw therefore, the import 
of the military terras he employed. 

In a collection of aboriginal antiquarian articles at his house, he 
permitted me to make drawings of any taken from the fort grounds, 
or disinterred from ancient Indian graves, which appeared to me to 
merit it. Of these, but a few are pertinent to the present inquiry. 
These are as follows : 

Number 1, represents an antique collar or medal, [Nabikoagun,! 
wrought out of sea shell. It is crossed with two parallel, and two 
horizontal lines, ornamented with dots, and dividing the surface into 
four equal parts. An orifice exists for introducing a string to suspend 
it about the neck. This species of article, is found in Indian graves of 
the period preceding the discovery of the continent, or not extending 
more than one or two generations into the new period. It was pro- 
bably an elegant ornament when bright and new, and exhibiting the 
natural color and naccr of the shell. Inhumation has so far served 
to decompose the surface, as to coat it with alimy or chalky exterior, 
which effervesces in mineral acids. By scraping deep into it, the 
shelly structure is detected. This kind of ornament, varying much 
in size, was probably soon replaced by the metallic gorget and medal 
introduced by the trade, am! has long been unknown both to Indians 
and traders. I found it first in Indian cemeteries of the west, 
without, however, for some time suspecting its real nature, supposing 
it some variety of altered pottery, or enamel paste ; but have since 
traced it over the entire area of the ancient occupation of western 
New-York, and, so far as examined, of Canada. 

No. 2. A stone ring, one inch and two-tenths in diamater, made oi 
a dark species of somewhat hard steatite or slaty rock. Its character 



102 [Senate 

istic trait is found in its adaptation to the middle finger, (of a male) 
and its having eleven distinct radiating lines. 

No. 3. A globular bead or amulet, [Minace,] of sea shell one inch 
and a half in diameter, solid and massy, having an orifice for suspend- 
ing it. It is slightly ovate. Its structure from shell, is distinctly 
marked. Like the flat medal-shaped Nabikoagun (No. 1.) of the 
same material, it has a limy coating from the effects of partial 
decomposition. In the remaining features of the sketch, referred to, 
letters G. G., denote ancient remains of a European character in 
the contiguous part of the town of Pompey, which are more particu- 
larly described in the documentary appendix. 

E. represents the Twin Mounds, two natural formations of fine 
gravel and other diluvial strata, situated on the south side of the 
creek, on the farm of Jeremiah Gould. These mounds are conspi- 
cuous features in the landscape, from their regularity, and position on 
elevated grounds, as well as from their connection with the ancient 
Indian history of the valley. These pyramidal heaps of earth are con- 
nected, by a neck of earth, in the manner represented. They exhibit 
the appearance of having been cleared of the forest, almost entirely, at 
an ancient date. The surface exhibits numerous pits or holes, which 
excite the idea of their having served as a noted locality for the In- 
dian Assenjigun, or pit for hiding or putting en cache, corn or other 
articles, to preserve it from enemies, or as a place of deposit during 
temporary absences from the village. There can, I think, be little 
question that this was the true use and relation these geological emi- 
nences bore to the ancient town on the Kasonda, marked B. Suclij 
too, is the general impression derived from local tradition. Some 
years ago, a skeleton was exhumed from one of these caches. 



No. 24.] lO.*^ 



[c] Antiquities of Pompcy and adjacent parts ol Onon- 
daga county. 

No part of western New-York has furnislieil a lar'^'cr numhtT of 
antiquarian remains, or been more often referred to, ilian the geo- 
graphical area which constituted thr orit^inal town of Pomp«y. 
There is, consequently, the less need of devotinir ehiborate attention 
to the details of this particular locality. It was first visited and de- 
scribed by De Witt Clinton, in 1810-11,* and the plough has since 
rendered it a task less easy than it then was, to exumine the lines of 
its ancient works and its archaeological remains. It is ([uitc evident, 
from the objects of art discloseil at and about these antique sites of 
security and defence, that civilized man dwelt here in remote times, 
and there must be assigned to this part of the State a period of Eu- 
ropean occupancy prior to the commonly received historical era of 
discovery and settlement, or, at least, if falling within it, as there 
is now reason to believe, yet almost wholly unknown, or for- 
gotten in its annals. Sismondi has will remarked, that only the 
most important events come down to posterity, and that fame, for a 
long flight, prepares to forget every thing which she possibly can. 
That no accounts should remain of obscure events, in a remote part 
of the country, at an early date, is not surprising. .\s it is, we roust 
infer both the dates and the people, from such antiquarian remains 
of works of art and historical comparisons as can be obtained. 

There appear to have been two or three nations, who supplied very 
early visitors or residents to ancient Onondaga, namely, the Dutch, 
French and Spanish, the latter as merely temj)orary visitors or explo- 
rers. Both the Dutch and the French cirried on an early trade 
here wuth the Iroquois. It is most probable, that there are no re- 
mains of European art, or have ever been any disclosed, in this part 
of the country, one only excepted,t which are not due to the early 
attempts of the Dutch and French, to establish the fur trade among 
these populous and powerful tribes. To some extent, missionary 



• Trans, of Philo. ami Lit. Society of New-York, 
t Antique stone with .in inscription, Albany Academy. 



104 [Senate 

operations were connected with the efforts of both nations. But 
whatever was the stress laid on this subject, by Protestants or Catho- 
lics, neither object could be secured without the exhibition of fire- 
arms and certain military defences, such as stockades and picketted 
works, with gates, afforded. No trader could, in the 16th and 17th 
centuries, securely trust his stock of goods, domestic animals,, (if he 
had any,) or his own life, in the midst of fierce and powerful tribes, 
who acknowledged no superior, and who w^ere, besides, subject to 
the temporary excitement created by the limited use of alcohol. For 
we can assign absolutely no date to the early European intercourse 
with these tribes, in which there was no article of this kind, more or 
less, employed. Probably we should not have been left, as we are, 
to mere conjectures, on this subject, at least between the important 
dates of 1609 and 1664, had not the directors of the State paper 
office in Holland decided, in 1820, to sell the books and records of 
the Dutch West India company, as waste paper.* 

In examining the archeology of this part of New-York, w^e are, 
therefore, to look for decisive proofs of the early existence of this 
trade in the hands of the two powers named. The Dutch were an 
eminently commercial people, at the epoch in question, and pursued 
the fur trade to remote parts of the interior, at an early date. They 
had scarcely any other object at the time but to make this trade pro- 
fitable. Settlements and cultivation was a business in the hands of 
patroons, and was chiefly confined to the rich vallies and intervales of 
the southern parts of the State. They were, at the same time, too 
sagacious to let any thing interrupt their good understanding with 
the natives ; and on this account, probably, had less need of military 
defences of a formidable kind than the French, who were a foreign 
power. It was, besides, the policy of New-France, — a policy most 
perseveringly pursued, — to wrest this trade, and the power of the 
Indians, from the hands of the Dutch and their successors, the Enor- 
lish. They sought not only to obtain the trade, but they intrigued 
for the territory. They also made the most strenuous endeavors to 
enlist the minds of the Indians, by the ritual observances of the Ro- 
misii church, and to propagate among the Iroquois its peculiar doc- 
trines. Tliey united in this early effort the sword, the cross, and the 
purse. 



• Vide Jlr. Brodhead's report. 



No. 24.J , 105 

Were all the libraries of Europe and America burned and totally 
destroyed, there would remain incontestible evidences of each ol the 
above named efforts, in the metallic implements, f;uns, sword-bladcs 
hatchets, locks, bells, horse-shoes, hammers, paste and plass beads 
medals, crucifixes and other remains, which are so frcqutnily turned 
up by the plough in the fertile wheat and cornfields of Onondaga. 

Looking beyond this era, but still found in the same geographical 
area, are the antiquities peculiar to the Ante-Columbian period, and 
the age of intestine Indian wars. These are found in various parts 
of the State, in the ancient ring forts, angular treiuhes, moats, bar- 
rows, or lesser mounds, which constituted the ancient simple Indian 
system of castramentation. 

This era is not less strongly marked by the stone hatchets, pestles, 
fleshing instruments, arrow-heads and javelins of chert and horn- 
stone ; amulets of stone, bone and sea-shells, wrought and unwrought; 
needles of bone, coarse pottery, pipes, and various other evidences 
of antique Indian art. The practice of interring their favorite uten- 
sils, ornaments and amulets with the dead, renders their ancient 
grave-yards, barrows and mounds the principal repositories of these 
arts. They are, in effect, so many museums of antiquity. 

The field for this species of observation is so large and attractive 
to the antiquarian, that far more time than was at my command, 
would be required to cultivate it. Early in the present year, Mr. 
Joshua V. V. Clark visited some of the principal scenes mentionc.l. 
Subsequently, at my suggestion and solicitation, he re-visited the 
same localities and extended his inquiries to others of an interesting 
character, in the county of Onondaga, descriptions of which arc 
presented under letter [C] of the documentary appendix. 



[Senate, No. 24.] M 



106 



[Senatf. 



[d.] 



Ancient fortification of Osco,* at Auburn, Cayuga 
County. 



The eminence called " Fort Hill," in the southwestern skirts of the 
village of Auburn, has attracted notice from the earliest times. Its 
height is such as to render it a very commanding spot, and crowned, 
as it was, with a pentagessimal work, earthen ramparts and palisades 
of entire efficacy against Indian missiles, it must have been an im- 
pregnable stronghold during the periods of their early intestine wars. 
The following diagram, drawn by James H. Bostwick, surveyor, and 
obligingly furnished by S- A. Goodwin, Esq. exhibits its dimensions ; 




• This ancient name for tlie site of Auburn, was communicated to me by the intelligent 
Onondaga Taht-kaht-ons, or Abraham Le Fort. It is descriptive of the ford or crossing 
place, which anciently existed above the falls, near the site of the present turnpike 
bridge. This was crossed by stepping stones, &c. The barks, which made a part of a 
rude Indian bridge, were, at the time the name was bestowed, nearly overflowed; the 
crossing was verj' dangerous, as it was just above the brink of the falls, and it was an 
act of daring to pass over. The name bestowed at this time became perpetual, although 
there may havo been but little danger in crossing afterwards. 



No. 2^L] 107 

The site of th.s work .s the highest land .n the v.anuy, and a v.sit 
to It affords one of the best and most varied views of the valley of 
the Owasco, and the thriving and be,.utiful inland town of Auburn 
^^ith Its public buikhngs, prison,* and other noted public ed.f.ce,' 
Iho ellipsis enclosed by the embankments, with their intervening 
spaces, has a circumference of 1200 feet. Its minor dimensions arc 
as follows, namely : 



From A. to 


M., 


310 feet. 


" B. to 


L-, 


416 " 


Opening at 


A., 


166 " 


u 


B., 


66 " 


u 


C, 


78 " 


(C 


D., 


60 " 


(( 


E., 


50 " 


Wall at 


F-, 


275 '' 


u 


G., 


145 " 


ii 


H., 


278 " 


u 


I-, 


52 " 


a 


K., 


30 " 



Viewed as a military work, the numerous breaks or openings in 
the wall, marked from A. to C, constitute rather its characteristic 
trait. They are of various and irregular widths, and it seems most 
difiicult to decide why they are so numerous. If designed for egress 
or regress, they arc destitute of the principle of security, unless they 
were defended by other works of destructible material, which have 
wholly disappeared. The widest opening |of 166 feet,] opens tli- 
rectly north , the next in point of width [78 feet,] directly south ; 
but in order to give these or any of the other spaces tht- character 
of entry or sally ports, and, indeed, to render the entire wall de- 
fensible, it must have had palisadoes. 

Immediately below the openings at E. D. C, and a part of the 
embankment F., there are a series of deep ravines, separated by acute 
ridges, which must have made this part of the work dillicult of ap- 
proach. In front of the great (north) opening, the ground descends 



• One of the^most striking' evidrnccs of thai tendencf of the mrface limMtoM rtnlitt* 
cation of western New-Yoriv to assume a fissured character, markwl t)y the canlioal 
points, is seen in the banks of the Owasco, a short <iislancp below Ihr Siale prl»oo. 



108 [Senate 

gradually about seventy feet, when there is a perfect acclivity. The 
hill has its natural extension towards the east, for several hundred 
yards, in the course of which, a transverse depression in the sur^ice 
separates the eastern terminus of the ridge from its crown at the site 
of the fort. 

It is not known that excavations have been made for antiquarian 
remains, so that there is no accessory light to be derived from this 
source. The entire work conforms to the genius and character of the 
red races who occupied the Ohio valley, and who appear to have 
waged battle for the possession of this valuable part of the country, 
prior to the era of the discovery of America, and ere the Iroquois 
tribes had confederated and made themselves masters of the soil. 
That the art of defence by field works was cultivated by the ancient 
American tribes, is denoted by their traditions, as well as by the pre- 
sent state of our antiquarian knowledge. This art did not aspire to 
the construction of bastions, at the intersection of two right angled 
lines, by means of which a length of wall might have been enfi- 
laded with arrows. Even where the works were a square or paral- 
lelogram, of which there are one or two instances among the oldest 
class of forts, such an obvious advantage in defence does not appear 
to have occurred. Fire, and the coal chisel, or digger, were the 
ready means of felling trees and of dividing the trunks into suitable 
lengths for palisades. To heap a pile of earth within and without 
such lines, was the mode adopted by the Tuscaroras at the siege of 
Naharuke, in 1712, and it is probable that this then powerful and 
warlike nation had inherited much of the skill in fort building pos- 
sessed by their northern predecessors. 

The chief point, in addition to its numerous breaks in the wall, 
before noticed, in which this work differs from the generality of antique 
native forts of the oUlest period in this State, is its very well preserved 
elliptical form. A circle is the usual form of the antique forts of 
Indian origin in western New-York ; and these works are generally 
placed on the apex of a hill, covered by ravines as a natural moat, 
or they occupy an eminence which commanded other advantages. 
For the original communication and survey, above referred to, see 
letter E., documentary appendix. 



No. 24. J 



109 



[e.] Vestiges of an Ancient Elliptical Work at Caiian- 

daigua. 

The Scnecas deduce their descent from a noted cmiiu-m r, Ix arin^; 
the title of "Fort Hill" at the head of the sylvan expanse of Can- 
andaigua lake. The term of Fort Hill, is however, not confined to 
that spot, but is, as in the work under consideration, one of common 
occurrence, in sundry parts of the ancient and extended area of th»- 
Six Nations. The subjoined sketch, denotes the vestiges of an 
ancient strong-hold of the Senecas, of an elliptical form, on elevated 
lands about a mile northerly from the village. 










This work has been nearly obliterated by the plough. The only 
portions of the ancient wall yet remaining, are indicated by the letters 

B. B. At A, a dwelling house has been erected, flanked by gardens. 

C, is a turnpike or rectangular town road, passing over the apex of 
the elevation. The dotted angular lines denote fields in cultivation, 
and the dotted ellipses, through these grounds, arc laid down from Ira 



110 [Senate 

dition, rather than from any well defined vestiges in these fields of 
the original wall yet visible. D,Dj represents a native forest. Judg- 
ing from the curves of the portions of wall entire atB, B, in connec- 
tion with the era pointed out by the occupant, this work may have 
had a circumference of one thousand feet. It occupied a commanding 
site. The sections of the wall remaining, denote the labor of many 
hands, and if this rampart was crowned with palisades, and secured 
in the usual manner with gates, it must not only have furnished a 
garrison to a large body of warriors, but have been a work of much 
strength. 

In excavating the grounds for the road, in the approach to the 
village, human bones were found, in considerable quantities, on the 
descent of the hill, together with some of the usual vestiges of an- 
cient Indian art, as evinced in the manufacture of stone and clay 
pipes and implements. Nothing of this kind had, however, been 
pret>erved, which appeared worthy of particular description. 



No 24. J 



111 



[c] Ancient entrenchments on Fort Hill, near Le Rov, 
Genesee eountv. 

The followinc: diagram of this work has been drawn from a pen- 
sketch, forwarded by the Rev. Mr. Dewey, of Ilochestrr. 




The work occurs on an elevated p'^int of land formed by the June" 
tion of a small stream, called Fordham's brook, with Allen's creek, a 
tributary of the Genesee river. Its position is about three miles 
north of the village of Le Roy, and some ten or twelve northenst of 
Batavia. The best view of the hill, as one of the natural features of 
the country, is obtained a sh^rt distance north of it, on the road from 
Eergen to Le Roy. 

To attain a proper conception of its susceptibilities and rapacity, 
as the site of a work of defence, it is essential to conceive the country, 
for some (Ii>tance, to have had the level of the cxtrcrtu' plain, form- 



112 [Senate 

ing the highest part of the fort. The geological column of this 
plain, after passing down through the unconsolidated strata, appears 
to be composed of various strata of corniferous limestone, Onondaga 
or hydraulic limestone, and perhaps Medina sandstone. Geological 
causes, originating, so far as we can immediately perceive, in the two 
streams named, have cut down this series of stratifications, on the 
north, east and west, unequally, to the depth of some eighty or nine- 
ty feet, isolating the original plain, on three sides, by the vallies of 
Allan's creek and Fordhara brook. Availing themselves of this 
heavy amount of natural excavation, the ancient occupants of it fur- 
ther strenghtened its position, by casting up a wall and ditch along 
the brow of the two vallies, at the points of their junction, from A. 
to B., GO rods ; from A. to D., 30 rods; and from B. to C. 15 rods. 
This is as much of the embankment as now remains ; but tradition 
adds, that, on the earliest occupancy of the county, there were evi- 
dences that the work had been continued south from the extreme 
points, C. and D., and connected by an enclosure, parallel to A. B., 
which would hfve given it a regular quadrangular shape. The en- 
croachments of the respective vallies, at C. and D., now terminate 
the trench. And if we concede that geological changes of this kind 
must have required some time for their production, by the present 
power of action possessed by the streams named, it is an argument 
for the antiquity of the work. But, however antique, it was still 
the effort of a rude, and at best half civilized people, at an epoch 
when bows and arrows, clubs, spears and stones, and the stone casse- 
tcte* were the principal weapons of defence. For these are the 
the chief objects of antiquarian interest dug from the ground. There 
are also disclosed by the place or its vicinity, the amuletum archffius 
and other amulets of sea shell, bone and fossile stone, which were so 



• I finil the French word cassetete more exacUy descriptive of the probable and exclu- 
sive uses of the antique stone tomaliavvk, than any other which has been met with. The 
shape of this warlike instrument resembled strongly the ancient crossbill. It presents 
I he figure of a crescent, tapering gradually to the ends, which are rounded, and proceed 
to a sharp point. In the concave centre of the crescent is an orifice for a helve. It is an 
instrument denoting skill, and the possession of some mechanical tool for carving it 
harder than the ilark silecious slate, from which it is generally made. One of these in- 
sirunienis, sent to me by Mr. FoUet, of Batavia, and which, from an inscription, was 
found " in that vicinity by Jerome A. Clark, Esq. on the 16th May, 1844," is worthy the 
chisel of a sculptor. 



No. 24.] 113 

much prized by the ancient rod races of thisconluitMH, l,y xvhom tlu-y 
were manufactured, and exclusively used before the i-ra <.f the disco- 
very. That the spot continued, however, wbclher a ruin or not to 
be visited or occupied, after this era, is proved by som- remains 
of art, which were found here and described by Mr. Follct in 
a letter, which constitutes a valuable part of llic materials em- 
ployed in this description. [See appendix.] But tbe most re- 
markable and distinctive trait connected with its arch.-Pology is 
the discovery of human bones denoting an uncommon stature and 
development, which are mentioned in the same communiraiion. 
A humerus or shoulder bone, which is preserved, denotes a stature 
one-third larger than the present race, and there is also a lower jaw- 
bone, preserved by a physician at Batavia, from the vicinity, which 
indicates the same gigantic measure of increase. 

To supply the fort with water, a trench was continued about fifteen 
rods, from B at the northeast angle to E, in order to reach a spring 
below the declivity. In the isolated portion of the hill, marked F, 
haiks of moderate sized round stones have been found, which were 
probably one of the ancient means of defence. This spot, from the 
remains found, appears also to have been an ancient place of burial. 
Among the articles exhumed, were several curious pipes of stone and 
earthenware. One of these was formed out of granular limestone; 
another was of baked clay in the form of a man's head and face, the 
nose, eyes and other features being depicted in a style resembling some 
of the figures in Mr. Stephens' plates of the ruins of Central America. 
The top of the head is surrounded by a fillet ; on the occipital part 
are also two fillets. The neck has a similar ornament, and there is 
another on the breast. The orifices of the ears are denoted, and the 
whole evinces no little degree of art. This is the most curious relic 
found. 

Another pipe of reddish baked clay is ornamented with dots ; two 
rows of which extend round it, and another in festoons, like a <hnin 
looped up. 

Other parts of the topography are denoted by the plot, (i, W, is 
Allen's creek. H, I, K, Fordham'sbrook. L, P.M, a branch of Ford- 
ham's brook. R, N,V, denote the road, which passes through the cen- 
tre of the work. A former road led from V down the ravine to T. 

[Senate, No. 24.] 15 



114 [Senate 

There was formerly a bridge at N, to cross the ditch. This trench was 
estimated by early observers at from eight to ten feet deep, and as 
many wide. The earth in making it, had been thrown either w^ay, but 
much of it inwards. Forest trees were standing, both in the trench 
and on its sides. In size and age they appeared to be equal to the gene- 
ral growth of the forest. Prostrate upon the ground, there w^ere found 
numerous trunks of the heart-wood of black cherry trees of large size. 
These were evidently the remains of a more antique forest, which had 
preceded the existing growth of beech and maple. They were in such 
a st:Ueof soundness as to be employed for timber by the first settlers. 

There were no traditions among the Indians of the country respect- 
ing the use and design of this work. It was to them, as to the first 
settlers, an object of mystery. About half a mile below the hill, 
Allen's creek has a fall of some eighty feet. It is a perpendicular 
fall of much beauty. At this place the hydraulic limestone is seen to 
he the underlying rock. This rock had also been struck in excavat- 
ing the north line of the trench, on " Fort Hill," and some portions 
of it had been thrown out with the earth. 

Such are the interesting facts communicated to me, by the gentle- 
men whose names have been mentioned. The notice of the present 
altered state of the site, and the following just reflections naturally 
springing from the subject, may be stated in the exact words of Dr. 
Dewey: 

" The forest has been removed. Not a tree remains on the quadran- 
gle, and only a fev: on the edge of the ravine on the west. By cul- 
tivating the land, the trench is nearly filled in some places, though the 
line of it is clearly seen. On the north side the trench is considera- 
ble, and where the road crosses it, is three or four feet deep at the 
sides of the road. It will take only a few years more to obliterate it 
entirely, as not even a stump remains to mark out its line. 

" From this view it may be seen or inferred, 

" 1. That a real trench bounded three sides of the quadrangle. On 
the south side there was not found any trace of trench, palisadoes, 
blocks, &c. 

''2. It Avas formed long before the whites came into the country. 
The large trees on the ground and in the trench, carry us back to an 
early era. 



No. 24. J 115 

"3. The workers must have had some convmient tools for rxrava- 

tioiK 

"4. The direction of the sides may have had some reffrencc to the 
four cardinal points, though the situation of the ravines naturally 
marked out the lines, 

"5. It cannot have been designed merely to catrh wild animals to 
be driven into it from the south. The oblique line down to the 
spring is opposed to this supposition, as well as the insufficiency of 
such a trench to confine the animals of the forest. 

" 6, The same reasons render it improbable that the quadrangle was 
designed to confine and protect domestic animals. 

"7. It was probably a sort of foitified piaci-. There might have 
been a defence on the south side by a stockade, or some similar means, 
which might have entirely disappeared. 

^^ By what people was this work done ? 

" The articles found in the burying-ground at F, olTer no certain 
reply. The axes, chissels, &c. found on the Indian grounds in this 
part of the State, were evidently made of the greenstone or trap, of 
New-England, like those found on the Connecticut river in Massachu- 
setts. The pipe of limestone might be from that part of the coun- 
try. The pipes seem to belong to different eras. 

" 1. The limestone pipe indicates the work of the savage or abori- 
gines. 

" 2. The third indicates the age of French influence over the In- 
•dians. An intelligent French gentleman says such clay pipes are 
frequent among the town population in parts of France. 

"3. The second and most curious, seems to indicate an earlier agr 
and people. 

" The beads found at Fort Hill are long and coarse, made of haketl 
clay, and may have had the same origin as the third pipe. 

" Fort Hill cannot have been formed by the French as one of their 
posts to aid in the destruction of the English colonies. In 1689, or 
156 years ago, the French in Canada made serious attempts to de- 
stroy the English colony of New-York. If the French had made 
Fort Hill a post as early as 1660, or 185 years ago, and then deserted 



116 [Senate. 

it, the trees could not have grown to the size of the forest generally 
in 1810, or in 150 years afterwards. The white settlements had ex- 
tended ' only twelve miles west of Avon ' in 1798, and some years after 
1800, Fort Hill was covered with a dense forest. A chesnut tree cut 
down in 1842, at Rochester, showed 254 concentric circles of wood, 
and must have been more than 200 years old in 1800. So opposed 
is the notion that this was a deserted French post. 

" Must we not refer Fort Hill to that race, which peopled this coun- 
try before the Indians, who raised so many monuments greatly 
exceeding the power of the Indians, and who lived at a remote era V° 



[g.] Antique rock citadel of Kienuka, in Lewiston, Nia- 
gara county. 

In the preceding sketches, evidences have been presented of the 
readiness and good judgment of the aboriginal fort builders of west- 
ern New- York,* in availing themselves of steeps, gulfs, defiles, and 
other marked localities, in establishing works for security or defence. 
This trait is, however, in no case more strikingly exemplified than 
in the curious antique work before us, which is called, by the Tuscd- 
roras, Kienuka. The terra Kienuka is said to mean the stronghold 
or fort, from which there is a sublime view. It is situated about 



• It is not without something bordering on anachronism, that this portion of the con- 
tinent is called New-York, in reference to transactions not only before the bestowal of 
the title, in 1664, but long before the European race set foot on the continent. Sfill 
more inappropriate, however, was the term of New-Netherland, i. e. New-Lowlandy 
which it bore from 1609 to 1664, many parts of the State being characterized by lofty 
mountains, and all having an elevation of many hundreds of feet above the sea. In 
speaking of these ancier.t periods, a title drawn from the nativs vocabulary would better 
acconl with the period under discussion, if not with the laws of euphony. Bat the 
native tribes were poor generalizers, and omitted to give generic names to the land. 
The term of Haonao for the continent, or " island," as they call it, occurs, but this- 
would have no more pertinence applied to New-York, than to any other portion of it. 
The geographical feature most characteristic of the State, is Niagara, and next in 
prominence, Ontario, and either would have furnished a better cognomen for the 
State, had they been thought of in season. But it is too late now to make the change, 
and even for the remote era alluded to, the name nnder which the country has grown 
great, is to be preferred. It Is already the talismanic word for every honorable and 
social reminiscence. 



No. 24.] 117 

three and a half or four miles eashvard of the outlet of the Niajran* 
gorge at Lewiston, on a natural escarpment of the ruh^v. 

This ridge, which rises in one massy, up-towcring pile, almost 
perpendicularly, on the brink of the river, developes itself, as we 
follow its course eastward for a mile or two, in a second plateau 
which holds nearly a medium position in relation to tlie altitude of 
the ridge. This plateau attains to a width of a thousand yards or more, 
extending an unexplored distance, in the curving manner of the ridge, 
towards Lockport. Geologically considered, its upper stratum is the 
silurean limestone, which in the order of superposition, immediately 
overlies the red shaly sandstone at the falls. Its edges are jagged 
and broken, and heavy portions of it have been broken olT, and slid 
down the precipice of red shaly under grit, and thus assumed the 
character of debris. Over its top, there has been a thin deposit of 
pebble drift, of purely diluvial character, forming, in general, not a 
very rich soil, and supporting a growth of oaks, maples, butternut, 
and other species common to the country. From the ascent of the 
great ridge, following the road from Lewiston to Tuscarora village, 
a middle road leads over this broad escarpment, following, apparent- 
ly, an ancient Indian trail, and winding about with sylvan irregularity. 
Most of the trees appear to be of second growth ; they do not, at 
any rate, bear the impress of antiquity, which marks the heavy fo- 
rests of the country. Occasionally there are small openings, where 
wigwams once stood. These increase as we pass on, till they assume 
the character of continuous open fields, at the site of the old burying 
ground, orchard and play ground of the neighboring Tuscaroras. 
The soil in these openings appears hard, compact and worn out ,and 
bears short grass. The burial ground is filled almost entirely with 
sumach, giving it a bushy appearance, which serves to hide its an- 
cient graves and small tumuli. Among these are two considerable 
barrows, or small elliptic mounds, the one larger than the other, 
formed of earth and angular stones. The largest is not probably 
higher than five feet, but may have a diameter of twenty feet, in the 
longest direction. 

Directly east of this antique cemetery, commences the oM .ir. imrd 
and area for ball playing, on which, at the time of my visit, the 
stakes or goals were standing, and thus denoted that the ancient 



118 



[Senate 



games are kept up on these deserted fields, by the youthful popula 
tion of the adjacent Tuscarora village. A small ravine succeeds, 
with a brook falling into a gulf, or deep break in the escarpment, 
where once stood a saw mill, and where may still be traced some 
vestiges of this early attempt of the first settlers to obtain a water 
powe'r from a vernal brook. Immediately after crossing this little 
ravine, and rising to the general level of the plain, we enter the old 
fields and rock fortress of Kienuka, described in the following dia- 
gram. 




No. 24.] 119 

To obtain a proper conception of this plan, it is necessary to ad- 
vert to geological events, in this part of the country, whose elTect* 
are very striking. The whole country takes an impress, in some 
degree, from the great throe which worked out a passam- for the 
Niagara, through seven miles of solid rock, severing, at its outlet, 
the great coronal ridge, at its highest point of elevation. Nothing, 
we think, is more evident to the observer, in tracing out tlie Kicnuka 
plateau, than the evidences which exist of Lake Ontario having 
washed its northern edge, and driven its waters against its crowning 
wall of limestone. The fury of the waves, forced in to the line of 
junction, between the solid limestone and fissile sandstone, has broken 
up and removed the latter, till the overlying rock, pressed by its own 
gravity, has been split, fissured or otherwise disrupted, and often 
slid in vast solid masses dowm the ragged precipice. Kienuka offers 
one of the most striking instances of this action. The fissures made 
in the rock, by the partial withdrawal of its support, assume the size 
of cavern passages ; they penetrate, in some instances, under other 
and unbroken masses of the superior stratum, and are, as a whole, 
curiously intersected, forming a vast reticulated area, in which large 
numbers of men could seek shelter and security. 

A. denotes the apex of this citadel of nature. At this point, heavy 
masses of the limestone, rest, in part, upon the fissures, and serve as 
a covering. From these primary fissures, others, markeil C.C.C.C.C., 
proceed. The distance from G. to H. is 227 paces. Tlie cross fis- 
sure at I., thirty-seven paces. 

Most of these fissures which extend in the general parallel of the brink 
appear to have been narrow, and are now covered with the sod, or 
filled with earth and carbonaceous matter, which gives this portion of 
them the aspect of ancient trenches. D. denotes a small mound or 
barrow. E. F., a brook, dry at midsummer. B. the site of an aban- 
doned saw-mill, at the head of an ancient lake inlet or <:(n'^i'. The 
arrow head denotes the site of habitations, which are marked by re- 
mains of pottery, pipes, and other evidences of the ancient, rude arts 
of the occupants. The parallel dots at B. mark the road, which, at 
this point, crosses the head of the gorge. Trees, of mat . .'h, 

occupy some portions of the brink of the precipice, extc:. , ■ : "^e- 
ly eastward, and obscure the view, which would otherwise be com- 
manding, and fully justify the original name. Directly in front, 



120 [Senate 

looking north, at the distance of seven or eight miles, extends the 
waters of Lake Ontario, at a level of several hundred feet below. 
The intermediate space, stretching away as far as the eye can trace 
it, east and west, is one of the richest tracts of wheat land in the 
State, cultivated in the best manner, and settled compactly, farm to 
farm. Yet such to the eye is the effect of the reserved woodlands 
on each farm, seen at this particular elevation, that the entire area, 
to the lake shore, has the appearance of a rich, unbroken forest, 
whose green foliage contrasts finely with the silvery whiteness of the 
lake beyond. It requires the observer, however, at this time, to 
ascend the crown of the ridge, to realize this view in all its beauty 
and magnificence. 



[h.] Site of an ancient battle-field, with vestiges of an 
entrenchment and fortification on the banks of 
the Deoseowa, or Buffalo creek. 

The following sketch conveys an idea of the relative position of 
the several objects alluded to. Taken together they constitute the 
distinguishing feature in the archeology of the existing Indian ceme- 
tery, mission station, and council-house on the Seneca reservation, 
five or six miles south of the city of Buffalo. As such, the site is 
one of much interest, and well worthy of further observation and 
study. The time and means devoted to it, in the preparation of this 
outline, were less than would be desirable, yet they were made use 
of, under favorable circumstances, as the current periodical business 
and deliberations of the tribe brought together a large part of them, in- 
cluding the chief persons of education and intelligence, as well as 
many aged' persons who are regarded as the depositories of their tra- 
ditions and lore. 

Tradition, in which all concur, points out this spot as the scene of 
the last and decisive battle fought between the Senecas and their 
fierce and inveterate enemies the Kah-Kwahs, a people who are ge- 
nerally but erroneously supposed to be the same as the Eries.* It is 
not proposed in this place, to consider the evidences on this point, or 
to denote the origin and events of this war. It is mainly alluded to as 

• This is a French pronunciation of a Wyandot or Huron term. Vide Hennepin, Am- 
sterdam, ed. 1698. 



No. 24.] 121 

a historical incident connected with the site. It is a site around which 
the Senecas have clung, as if it marked an era in their national liistory ; 
although the work itself was clearly erected by their enemies. It has 
been the seat of their government or council fire, from an early period 
of our acquaintance with them. It was here that Red Jacket uttered 
some of his most eloquent harangues against the steady encroaclmients 
of the white race, and in favor of retaining this cherished portion of 
their lands, and transmitting them with full title to their descendants. 
It was here that the noted captive, Dehewamis, better known as Mary 
Jemison, came to live after a long life of most extraordinary vicissi- 
tudes. And it is here that the bones of the distinguished Orator, 
and the no less distinguished Captive, rest side by side, with a 
multitude of warriors, chiefs and sages. Nor can we, on natural 
principles of association, call in question the truthfulness or force of 
the strenuous objections, which, for so many years, the whole tribe has 
opposed to the general policy of its sale. But these events are now 
history ; the tribe has come into arrangements to remove to reserva- 
tions owned by their brethren, in more westerly parts of the State, 
and there will soon be no one left whose heart vibrates with the blood 
of a Seneca, to watch the venerated resting places of their dead. 

It was suitable, before the plough was put into these precincts, and 
the last trench and mound of the tribe were obliterated, that some me- 
morial of the locality should be preserved, and I can only regret that 
the labor itself has not been better or more successfully accomplished. 



[Senate, No. 24.] 16 



122 



A>-CIENT IV'ORK ON BUFFALO CREEK. 



Senatk 




'^^WSfi^ 




A. denotes the site of the mission house ; B, of the council 
house ; D, of the battle field, or that portion of it where the result 
was consummated ; F, the grave yard. At C, there are still the re- 
mains of a mound, which tradition asserts was raised over the incine- 
rated bodies of victor and vanquished slain in battle. These bodies 
were piled together, interspersed with the carcasses of deer and other 
game, which had been hunted with the special view, that it might be 
otfered as a sacrifice with the bodies, or to appease their spirits in 
the land of the dead. In making partial excavations into this mound, 
which has been frequently plowed over in modern times, I procured 



No. 24.] 123 

several partially charred or blackem-d bones, supposed lo rcprest-i.l 
parts of the human and brute species ; a prool, it would seem, of the 
truth of this curious part of the tradition.* Mixed in the funeral 
pile, there were set vessels of pottery, with drinks olTircd as libationH 
to the dead. And it is certain, also, that pieces of rt.hlish toarsc 
pottery were obtained at the same tinu-, in making these partial exa- 
minations. 

The dotted lines are designed to show the probable figure antl ex- 
tent of the work, from the accounts of tlie Indians. That it was a 
circular work, appears to be denoted by the only parts of the wall 
yet remaininfT, which are drawn in black. The site itself was eleva 
ted moderately above the plain. There is no rea.son to suppose that 
this elevation of the surface was artificial. The relative position of 
the creek is denoted by G. H marks the position of a stone, which 
is connected with the history of their domestic arts, before the disco- 
very of the country. It was not practicable to obtain accurate ad- 
measurements of distances ; the design being merely to present a 
pencil sketch. 

* The Indian name of Bufifalu creek, which gives name to the city, has been irmriontljr 
written. In the treaty of 1784, at FortStanwix, it is called "Tehotcroron," which ia 
the Mohawli term, the final ;i. being probably designed to convey a nasal lound. The 
word, as pronounced to me by the late Mrs. Carr of Wellington S(|uare, Canada, who was 
a daughter of the celebrated Brandt, I have written Ti.iioskroro, meaning Place of the 
Linden tree. The letters d and t are interchangeable between the Mohawk* and Seneca*. 
The latter, who at the same lime do not use tlie letter r, and have some peculiarilie* in 
the use of the vowels, pronounce it in a manner which I thought should be written 
Deoseowa, as above. Mr. Wright, inhi3"^^cntal Elevator" and "Seneca Spelling Book,'. 
makes it a word ot four syllables, and uses the sound of i/ as heard in "yonder," for the 
vowel c in his second syllable. Every practiseil ear is acute to satisfy its own requisilioas 
of sound, which is not easy in unwritten languages ; anil there is besides a market! dif- 
ference in the pronunciation of Inillans from different localities, oruttcreil under dilTerenl 
circumstances. Mr. Ellicott, on his original plat of liulTalo, writes it " Tu«huway." 
Others have spelt it still differently. TiiC meaning of the word has exciietl but lillledif. 
ference of opinion. It denotes a locality of the linden or bx'awood tree, a «pecie* fuuiKl 
upon the rich bottom landsof this stream, whose bark was highly valuable to the«e tribes 
for covering their lodges, and for the tough and fibrous inner coat, which at an early Ume 
served them to make both twine and ropes. 

Whence then, it may be asked, is the origin of the word nufblo, since it it not foosti 
in the Indian terra ? Tradition denotes that the range of this animal once exletMletl lu 
the banks of the great lakes. There w.ts a current opinion among the early lrm*eller» 
along the shores of Lake Erie, that the bison had been seen and killetl on thi* creek. 
Whither the impression arose from, or was traceable, in part or wholly, to a deception 
of certain hunters in bringing in "other flesh," under the denomination of nufblo meat, 
as has been said, it would be difficult to determine. From whatever eau»e. it i« certain that 
thejstream acquired the popular name it now bears at an early ilay, whil»: ihc al->rir.ni» 
name was neglected. 



No. 24.J 125 



V. ANCIENT STATE OF INDIAN AIIT 



To (lenote the state of art among the aboriginal race, it is neces- 
sary closely to examine such monuments of it, as exist. The wonl 
" monument" is used to denote any remains of art. Such are their 
relics in the form of worked shells and amulets, pottery, carved im- 
plements and utensils of stone, and other antiquarian remains found 
in their mounds, graves, fortifications, and other places of ancieot 
occupancy in our latitudes. Of architectural ruins in stone, which 
constitute so striking a portion of aboriginal antiquities, in central 
and South America, particularly in the ruins of their temples and 
teocalli, (the only form of such architecture indeed, which survives,) 
we have no remains north of the latitude of the mouth of the Missis- 
sippi, imlessthey shall be disclosed in some of the large mounds yet 
unopened, or in portions of the country north of such a line, which 
yet remains unexplored, west of the extreme sources of the Red river 
and the Rio Del Norte. 

From this inquiry, we may peremtorily exclude, all articles and 
remains of metal (not gold, silver or native copper) and all sculpture 
and inscriptions (not picture writing) which have been found and 
commented on, with an air of wonder, in various places, but which 
are one and all, undoubtedly of European, or to give the grt-alest 
scope to conjecture, of trans-atlantic origin. Such are,tobepin with 
the highest object, the Grave creek inscription in apparently Celti- 
beric characters, the stone with a rude inscription in Roman lellcrs 
and Arabic figures found in Onondaga county, and now drpositctl in 
the Albany Academy ; the amulets of coar«e enamel colored pastes 
and glass, of the imperfect fabric of the 15th and Ifnh centuries, 
found in Indian graves ; or old village and fort sites, together with 
theflattened gun barrels, broken locks, artists' tools and other articles 



126 [Senate 

of iron, brass, or semi-vitrified earthenware, which are found over so 
considerable an extent of country in western New- York. The latter 
are undoubtedly, evidences of either earlier, or more systematic 
attempts to settle, if not to found colonies, amongst the Red Race 
from abroad, than we are yet prepared fully to comprehend. But 
there need be no question as to the general era and character of art 
to which they belong ; they are too clearly European in every in- 
stance to admit of scruple. 

The introduction of the fabrics of European art, among the tribes 
of this continent, had the inevitable and speedy effect to destroy the 
prior Indian arts. It is astonishing to find how soon the aborigines 
of our latitudes, lost the art of making culinary vessels of clay ; of 
carvhio- amulets and pipes out of steatites and other fissile mineral 
bodies ; of perforating, dissecting and forming sea shells into the 
various shapes of wariipum, gorgets, pendants, necklaces, belt and 
pouch ornaments, and other ornamental fabrics. They no sooner 
obtained the light brass, copper, iron, and tin kettle, than they laid 
aside the more clumsy and frail Akeek, or clay pot ; their women 
relieved from the labor of selecting and tempering the clays, and 
forming it into pots and dishes, were advanced one step in the art of 
housewifery, and took the first lesson in European civilization. 

' The maker of arrow and javelin heads, for this was a distinct art, 
was superceded by the superior efficacy of fire arms ; and his red 
descendant at this day, as well as the gleaner of antiquities, is alike 
at a loss to find, where the ancient artist in chert and hornstone procur- 
ed his materials of so suitable a quality and fracture, and how he obtain- 
ed the skill to chip and form them into such delicate and appropriate 
patterns. The small and slender axe of iron, with a steel edge, and 
pipe-head, at once took the place of the crescent-shaped stone toma- 
hawk, which had alone been appropriated to war ; while the larger 
half-axe, so called, supplanted the clumsy stone Agakwut before 
employed rather as a gouge to detach coal in the process of felling 
trees by fire, than an axe proper. By the application of the common 
lathe and turning chisel, those species of thick sea shells, which the 
natives had, with so much labor, converted into seawan and wampum, 
were manufactured with such superior skill, expedition and cheapness, 
(although this is an a: tide which the trader always held comparative- 



No. 24.] 127 

ly high) that the old Indian art of the wnmpum-viaker, sunk, like 
that of the arrow-maker, never to be revived. But ni all tiie ex 
changes made between civilized and savage life, the gift of the slecl- 
trap, in replacing the Indian trap of wood, was the most eaijsrly 
sought, and highly prized by the hunter, although it hastened the 
period of the destruction of the whole class of furred animals, antl 
thus in effect, brought to a speedy close the Indian dnminion. 

Pottery was an art known universally among all the tribes from 
Patagonia to the Arctic ocean, but was practised with very ditTercnt 
degrees of skill. The northern tribes who bordered on the great 
lakes, and thence reached down to the Atlantic, made a rude article, 
which just answered the simple purposes of the culinary art. The 
clay, or argillaceous material used for it, was such as is common to 
diluvial and tertiary soils. It was tempered with silex, in the form 
of pounded quartz, or often quartz and feld-spar, as it exists in 
granite, in quite coarse particles. This mixture prevented shrinkage 
and cracks in drying, and enabled the mass to withstand the applica- 
tion of heat — an art which has resulted, and would very soon result, 
in any given case, from experience. There were no legs to the 
Indian akeek, or pot. It was designed to be used, to use a chemical 
phrase, as a sand-bath. Being set on the ashes, a fire was built 
around it. It might also admit of suspension, by a bark cord lied 
below the lip, which flared out well, and thus could be attached to 
the ordinary Indian cooking-tackle, namely ; a long-legged tripod, 
tied at the top with bark. 

There is no evidence in the structure of any of this species of pot- 
tery, at least, in these latitudes, that it had been raised or formed on a 
potter's wheel. The fact that prepared clay placed on a revolving 
horizontal circle, would rise, by the centrifugal force, if resisted by 
the hand, or a potter's stick or former, was not known to these 
tribes ; although it is admitted to be one of the oldest arts in the 
world. Some skill was consequently required to form the mass and 
shape the vessel, without machinery. It was essential to its utility, 
and to prevent unequal shrinkage in drying, that the body should be 
of uniform thickness ; and this art was also, if we may judce from 
fragments, and one or two entire vessels examined, verv u-. 11 :.tt;imfd. 



128 [Senate 

It is believed that this art, in this quarter, was in the hands of 
females ; but every female or mistress of a lodge, was not adequate 
to it. It must have been the business of a class of persons in each 
village, who were professed potters. Tradition says that it was the 
practice to mingle some blood in wetting and tempering the clay. 

It was impossible that this art, so rude and laborious, and so ill- 
suited to perform its offices when done, could survive and continue to 
be practised for any length of time after the tribes had been made 
acquainted with the products of the European potteries, rude as 
these were comparatively speaking, in the fifteenth and sixteenth cen- 
turies. 

Architecture, as it existed in the north and west, was confined, we 
may suppose^ to earthen structures, crowned with wood, in the shape 
of beams and posts. And it is only as it exhibited a knowledge of 
geometry, in the combination of squares and circles, to constitute a 
w«rk of defence, that it is deserving of notice. The knowledge of the 
pyramid and its durability, is one of the most ancient geometrical dis- 
coveries in the world, and it is quite clear, in viewing the mounds and 
teocalli of North America, that the aborigines possessed, or had not for- 
gotten it. In most of the works of defence, in the western country, the 
circular pyramid, or mound of earth of various sizes, formed a strik_ 
ing feature ; whilst in relation to the mounds used for religious cere- 
monies, as we must suppose the larger mounds to have been, its 
completeness of plan and exact truncation, parallel to the plain or 
basis, denotes the prevalence among them, of this ancient architectu- 
ral idea. We detect also, in a survey of the old works, the square, 
the parallelogram, the circle, and the ellipsis. And these figures 
were variously employed in the arrangement of masses of earth, to 
produce a rampart and a moat. 

The domestic economy required implements to perform the arts 
which we express by the words sewing and weaving. 

The awl and needle were made from various species of animal 
bones of the land and water. The larger awl used to perforate bark, 
in sewing together the sheething of the northern canoe, made from 
the rind of the betula, was squared and brought to a tapering point. 
A very close grain and compact species of bone was employed for 
the fine lodge awl used for sewing dressed skins for garments. After 



No. 24.J 12;, 

this skin had been perforated, a thread of deer's sinew was drawn 
through, from the eye of a slender bone needle. There was besides 
this, a species of shuttle of bone, which was passed backwards and 
forwards, in introducing the bark woof of mats and bags ; two kinds 
of articles, the work of which was commonly made from the stirpu* 
Iseustris or larger bulrush. It was only necessary to exhibit the 
square and round awl, and grose and fine needle of steel, to super- 
cede these primitive and rude moi\es o{ sea7nstrcss-tDork and toeaving. 

In an examination of Indian antiquarian articles, taken from the 
graves and mounds, there is some glimmering of the art of design. 
There is no other branch of art to which we can refer the numerous 
class of carved ornaments and amulets, or their skill in symbolical or 
representative drawing, evinced in their picture writing. 

Amulets and neck, ear and head ornaments, constituted a very an 
cient and very important department in the arcanum of the Indian 
wardrobe. They were not only a part of the personal gear and de- 
corations which our old British writers sometimes denote " braveries," 
but they were connected with his superstitions, and were a part of 
the external system of his religion. The aboriginal man, who had 
never laid aside his oriental notions of necromancy, and believed 
firmly in witchcraft, wore them as charms. They were among the 
most cherished and valued articles he could possibly possess. They 
were sought with great avidity, at high prices, and, after having served 
their office of warding otF evil, while he lived, they were deposited 
in his grave, at death. Bones, shells, carved stones, gems, cla-vs an<l 
hoofs of animals, feathers of carnivorous birds, and above all the 
skin of the serpent, were cherished with the utmost care, and regard- 
ed with the most superstitious veneration. To be decketl with suit- 
able amulets was to him to be invested with a charmed life. They 
added to his feeling of security and satisfuction in his daily avoca- 
tions, and gave him new courage in war. 

But if such were the influence of pendants, shells, beads and other 
amulets or ornaments, inspired by children who saw ami heard, what 
their parents prized, this influence took a deeper hold of their mind* 
at and after the period the virile fast, when the power of dreams and 
visions was added to the sum of their experimental knowledge of di- 
vine things, so to call them. To fix it still stronger, the Indian sys- 

[Senate, No. 24. 1 ^ 



130 [Senate 

tern of medicine, which admits the power of necromancy, lent its aid. 
And thus, long before the period which the civilized code has fixed 
on, to determine man's legal acts, the aboriginal man was fixed, 
grounded and educated in the doctrine of charms, talismans, and 
amulets. 

To supply the native fabric in this particular branch, was more 
difficult. Christianity, in a large part of Europe, certainly all pro- 
testant Europe had, in 1600, religiously discarded all such, and kin- 
dred reliances on amulets, from its ritual and popular observances,, 
where they had taken deep root during the dark ages ; and hence 
the first Enirlish and Dutch voyagers and settlers who landed north 
of the capes of Florida, regarded the use of them as one of the 
strong evidences of the heathenishness of the tribes, and made light 
of their love of " beads and trinkets." It was necessary, however, 
to the success of their traffic and commerce — the great object of 
early voyages, that this class of articles should be noticed ; and they 
brought from the potteries and glass-houses of Europe various substi- 
tutes, in the shape of white, opaque, transparent, blue, black, and 
other variously colored beads, and of as many diverse forms as the 
genius of geometry could well devise. We see, what it is somewhat 
difficult as an inquiry of art otherwise to reach, that they also brought 
over a species of paste-mosaic, or curious oval and elongated beads 
of a kind of enamel or paste, skilfully arranged in layers of various 
colors, which, viewed at their poles, represented stars, radii, or other 
figures. These were highly prized by the natives, (ignorant as they 
were of the manner of making them,) and were worn instead of the 
native amulets. In place of their carved pipes of steatite, or clay 
pipes ornamented with the heads of birds, men, or animals, they sup- 
plied them with a somewhat corresponding heavy, plain, or fiutt^d 
pipe-bowl, which was designed, like the native article, to receive a 
large wooden stem, such as we see among the remote interior tribes, 
at the present day. The jingling ornaments of native copper or deer 
hoofs, were replaced from European work-shops, by the article of 
brass, called " hawks-bells," an article which, like that of wampum, 
still retains its place in the invoices of the Indian trade. 

But by far the most attractive class of fabrics which the commerce 
of Europe supplied in exchange for their rich furs and peltries, was 
arm-bands, wrist-bands, ear-rings, gorgets, and other ornaments, both 



No. 24.] 131 

for the person and dress, of silver. This metal was esteemed, as it 
is at this day, above all others. Its color and purity led them to 
regard it as pre-eminently the noble metal, and its introduction at 
once superceded the cherished Nabikoagun Antique, and oiIkt Inrros 
of medals and gorgets made from compact sea-shells. 

In this manner the introduction of European arts, one after ano- 
ther, speedily overturned aJid supplanted the ancient Indian arts, and 
transferred them, at the end of but a few generations, from useful 
objects to the class of antiquities. It is unnecessary to pursue the 
subject to the department of clothing, in which woollens, cottons, 
linens and ribbons, took the place of the dressed skins of animals and 
birds, and the inner barks of trees, &c. Such objects are no part of 
the antiquities to be studied here. They arc wholly perisJiahle, and 
if any thing is to be gleaned from their study in the unburied cities 
of Pompeii and Herculaneura, where stone and marble offered objects 
of temporary resistance to currents of flowing lava, they offer no facts 
to guide the pen of the antiquarian here. The European and the 
Indian fabrics of the 16th century have alike submitted to the inevi- 
table laws of decomposition ; but were it otherwise, could we disinter 
from the Indian graves the first duffils, strouds, osnaburgs, and 
blankets, that were given to the race, they would only prove that 
the latter quickly laid aside the inferior when they could get the 
superior article. It would prove that guns and gunpowder, brass 
kettles and iron axes, had caused the manufacture of stone darts and 
clay kettles to be thrown aside and forgotten, and in like manner the 
labors of the spindle and loom had given the Indian, even before 
Columbus descended to his grave, a new wardrobe. 

To denote what the Indian arts were, at the beginning of the 16th 
century, we must resort to their tombs, raoumls, and general cemete- 
ries. The melancholy tale that is told from the dust and bones of 
these sacred repositories is to be our teacher and schoolmaster. Its 
whispers are low and almost inaudible. There arc pauses and lapses 
which it is difficult to make out. It requires great care — nice atten- 
tion — examination and re-examination. We must not hastily com- 
pose the thread of the narrative. We must doubt and reject where 
doubt and rejection are proper. We must discriminate the various 
epochs of art from the objects disinterred. If objecU of various ages 



132 [Senate 

lie in the same cemeteries we must not confound them. Carefully 
to labor, patiently to study, cautiously to conclude, is the province of 
the antiquarian ; and if, after all, he has but little to offer, it is, per- 
haps, because there is but little to glean. 



NOTE 



The following specimen of Iroquois picture writing should have been placed under the 
article " Onondagas,'' where the omission is supplied, by a head from an ancient pipe, 
hereafter described under the class of relics named Opoaguna. It represents the first 
Iroquois ruler, under their confederacy, named Atotarho. 




No. 24.] i:^ 



VL RELICS OF ABORIGINAL ART IN WESTERN 
NEW-YORK. 



[Antique insignia, amulets, implements and ornaments.] 

It will tend to render the work of antiquarian examination exact, 
and facilitate comparison, if names descriptive of the general classes 
and species of each object of archreological inquiry be introduced. 
No science can advance if the terms and definitions of it be left vat^e. 
The mere inception of this design is here announced ; it is not pro- 
posed, at present, to do more than submit a few specimens from a 
large number of antiquarian articles, the result of many years' accu- 
mulation. The figures and descriptions introduced are confined ex- 
clusively to the geographical area under examination. 

To establish the classes of articles, names are introduced from the 
Indian vocabulary. These are qualified by specific terms, adjective 
or substantive, from the same class of languages, or from the En- 
glish ; rarely from other sources. A nomenclature derived from 
such sources, appeared preferable for these simple objects of savage 
art, to one taken from the ancient languages, whose prerogative it 
has so long been to furnish terms for science and art. 



134 

American Antiquities — Plate I. 



[Senate 




Class First. NABIKOAGUNA.* 

Objects of this kind were worn as marks of honor or rank. So 
far as known, they were constructed from the most solid and massy 
parts of the larger sea shells. Few instances of their havinp; been 
made from other materials, are known, in our latitudes. The ruins 
and tombs of Central and South America have not been explored, so 
far as is known, with this view. Nor have any insignia of this char- 
acter been found of stone. 

Nabikoaguna Antique. Fig. I., Plate I. This article is generally 
found in the form of an exact circle, rarely, a little ovate. It has 
been ground down and re-polished, apparently, from the sea conch. 

• From the Algic, denoting a medal, a breast-plate or collar. 



No. 24.J 135 

Its diameter varies from three-fourths of ;m inch to two inches. 
Thickness, two-tenths in the centre, thinning out a little towards the 
edges. It is doubly perforated. It is figured on tlie face and its re- 
verse, with two parallel latitudinal, and two longitudinal lines cross- 
ing in its centre, and dividing the area into four equal parts. Its 
circumference is marked with an inner circle, corresponding in width 
to the cardinal parallels. Each division of the circle thus quartered 
has five circles with a central dot. The latitudinal and longitudinal 
bands or fillets, have each four similar circles and dots, and one in its 
centre, making thirty-seven. The number of these circles varies, 
however, on various specimens. In the one figured, they are fifty- 
two. The partial decomposition of the surface renders e.xaclitude in 
this particular sometimes impossible. This article was first detected, 
many years ago, in a medal, one and a half inches diameter, found 
in an ancient grave on the Scioto, in Ohio, and was supposed to be a 
kind of altered enamel or earthern ware. The structure of the shell 
is, however, present in all cases, in its centre. Its occurrente, the 
present year, in the ancient fort grounds and cemeteries of Onon- 
daga, identifies the epochs of the ancient Indian settlements of Ohio 
and western New^-York, and furnishes a hint of the value of these 
investigations. A medium specimen was examined, in the posses- 
sion of I. Keeler, jr., Jamesville, very much obliterated ; another, of 
the minimum size, at James Gould's, Lafayette. The larcest speci- 
men seen, is one sent by I. V. V. Clarke, from Pompey and Manlius. 
The Indians have no traditions of the wearing of this species of shell 
medal, so far as known. It must be referred to the era preceding the 
discovery. 

Nabikoaguna Iroquois. Fig. 2, annexed. This article consists of 
a metal, which is apparantly an alloy. It is slightly ovate, and is 
perforated in the rim, so as to have been hung transversely. Its 
greatest diameter is two and four-ienth im lies. There are no traces 
of European art about it, unless the apparent alloy be such. Locality, 
valley of Genesee river. 



136 



AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES — Plate II. 



[Sknats: 




Kabikoaguna Cameo, Fig. 3, 4. Plate III. This well sculptured 
article, was discovered in the valley of the Kasonda creek, Onon- 
daga county. The material is a compact piece of sea shell. It still 
possesses, in a considerable degree, the smoothness and lustre of its 
original finish. Fig. 4 shews the prominence of the features in pro- 
file. At the angles of the temples are two small orifices, for suspend- 
ing it around the neck. The entire article is finished with much 
skill and delicacy. [Mifflin Gould.] 

American Antiquities — Plate III. 



t . 





Nabikoaguna Mnemonic. Fig. 1, plate IV. This is the head of 
an infant represented in the fine red pipe-stone from the Missouri. 
Locality, site of the ancient fort of the Kasonda valley. [I. Keeler, 
junior.] 



No 24.] 13t 

American Antiquities— Plau- IV 




Class Sfxond. — MEDAKKA. 
This class comprises the cimulels proper. All the objects of this 
class are supposed to have been worn on various parts of the person, 
as a defence against witchcraft, sorcery, or spells, or to propitiate 
good luck by superstitious means. 

Medaeka Missouric. Sec Fig. 1, Plate V, with the illustration of 
the manner of its being worn on the breast. This article varies mode- 
rately in length, breadth and figure. It is generally the frustrum of 
an acute pyramid, perforated in its length, to admit bei;.g su.«;pended 
from the neck, or ears. The figure exhibited is three inches in length 
by two-tenths in breadth at its superior, and nine-tenths at its infe- 
rior extremity. Sometimes, as in the figure given, it has a raised surface 
in the direction of the perforation. It is formed of the red pipe-stone 
of the Coteau Des Prairie, west of the Mississippi ; and its disintermrnt 
from Indian graves in western New- York, denotes an early traffic or ex- 
change of the article, or rather the material of its construction, with the 
tribes in that quarter. This stone is fissile, and easily cut or ground by 
trituration with harder substances to any figure. It bears a dull gloss 
not a polish, which was produced by rubbing the surface with the 
equisitum, or rush, which has a silicious gritty surface. It is of the 
period anterior to the introduction of F^uropean arts. The specimen 
figured is from Onondaga county, [I. V. V. Clarke.] It occurred also 
at Oswego, in removing the elevation of the old fort. |J. ,M. Ni. 1 i 
Also, at Lower Sandusky, Ohio. [L. Cass.J 



[Senate, No. 24.] IS 



138 



[Senate. 



American Antiquities. — Plate V. 




Medaeka Dental. Fig. 4, 5. Plate VI. Fossil specimens of the 
bear's tooth. A power against charms or spells was often attributed 
to amulets of this kind. The two species, very different in size, and 
of course the age of the animal, were obtained from a single grave. 
Valley of the Genesee river. [E. Trowbridge.] 

Medaeka Okun. Fig. 3, Plate VI. This species is made from a 
compact kind of bone, squared and perforated. Valley of the Gene- 
see river. [E, Trowbridge.] From an ancient grave. 



No. 24.] 139 

American Antiquities. — Plate VI. 




.1 ^*^ ^~^ 

Class Third.— ATTAJEGUNA.* 

Under this class are grouped a great variety of im|)lcnipnts and 
instruments of utility, war, hunting and diversion. Tlie material is 
chiefly stone. Without plates, however, it is impossible to give that 
exactitude to the description of this numerous class of antiquarian 
remains which is desired. But a single figure has been prepared — 
Attajeguna deoseowa. This relic of Indian art was pointed out to 
me by Mr. Wright, missionary on the Seneca reservation, near the 
city of Buffalo. It consists of a block of limestone, having two 
spherical basin-shaped depressions. It is the tradition of this people 
that in this ancient mortar, the female potters of olden time pounded 
the stone material with which they tempered the clay for the ancient 
akeek or cooking vessel. The original stone had been broken. 
From the portion of which the annexed is a figure, the entire ma5S 
must have been one of considerable weight. 

American Antiquities. — Plate vn. 




TFrom the Al^win^*^^'^' an'instniment, an|iinpleinent, or wy vtiAeial c(«tri. 
vancej or invention. 



140 



[Senate. 



Class Fourth.— OPOAGUNA. 

The class of antique pipes. Smoking pipes, constitute a branch of 
Indian art, which called forlh their ingenuity by carvings of various 
forms of steatite, serpentine, indurated clay, limestone, sandstone and 
other bodies. A;very favorite material was the red sedimentary com- 
pact deposit, found on the high dividing ridge between the Missouri 
and Mississippi, called the Coteau du Prairie. Pipes were also made 
from clay, tempered with some siliceous or felspathique material^ 
similar to that used in their ancient earthenware. 

Opoaguna ALGONQUIN. — Fig. 1. Am. Ant. Plate YIII. 




la ir 
1 







The composition of this pipe is a compact brown cl.iy, tempered 
■with a fme siliceous matter, and dried in the sun, not baked in a pot- 
ter's oven. The exterior is stained black, and bears a certain glossy 
not a glazing. The bowl has been formed by hand, and is rude. The 
principal point of skill is evinced in the tAvist ornamenting the exte- 
rior of the bowl. Locality, Genesee river valley. 

Opoaguna Azteek. Fig. .3, plate VIII. The material Is a 
species of Terra Cotta, or reddish earthenware. Its fracture discloses 
very minute shining particles, which appear to be mica. Probably 
the ingredient used to temper the clay, was pounded granite. The 
features resemble, very strikingly, those of Mexico and central 
America, figured by Mr. Catherwood tSc Stephens. Onondaga county. 



No. 24.J 



141 



American Antiquities — Plate Vlll. 




Opaguna Iberic. Fig. 1. Plate IX. Maleriiil, a slate colour**) 

ware. Features, thin ami sharp. Neck, acute in front, \vith an anfjular 
line extendinf^ from the chin downwanls. Onondaqa. 

American Antiquities. — Plate IX. 




142 



[ Senate 



Opoaguna Etruscan. Fig. 2. Plate X. Material similar to O. 
Azteek. Figure double headed — heads alike, placed back to back, 
like the Grecian deity Janus, connected by five parallel fillets,— bowl 
rudely formed, by hand. Onondaga. 

American Antiquities. — Plate X. 




Class Fifth.— MINACE.* 

Articles of this kind hold the relative character of modern beads 
or necklace ornaments. They are made of shells, bones, fissile mi- 
nerals, sometimes pieces of calcareous or fissile crystal. The substi- 
tutes of the European period are glass and pastes, 

MiNACE Alleghamc. Fig. 6, Plate I. This article was first dis- 
closed on opening the Grave Creek mound, in the Ohio valley, in 
1839, and received the false designation of " ivory." It is figured 
and described in the first volume of the Transactions of the American 
Ethnological Society, published at New-York in 1845, where iis 
character is determined. It has often the appearance of having been 
formed of solid masses of horn. It is believed to be, however, in 
any case, a product of massy sea-shell. Decomposition gives its sur- 



• From Meen, a berry; and ace, a diminutive; hence minas or minace, a bead, or an 
ornament for the neck. 



No. 24.] 143 

face a dead white aspect and limy feel. The powder scraped from 
the surface effervesces in acids. It is generally, not uniformly, an 
exact circle, and resembles extremely a very thick horn button- 
mould. It is characteristic of the orifice, that it appears to have 
been perforated with an instrument givinf; a spiral or circular line. 
This ancient ornament was also disclosed in my visit to the Hevvrly 
bone deposits of Canada in 1S4.T. Its occurrence, in Onondaga de- 
notes the universality of the art, during the ante-IOuropean period. 

Class Sixth— PEAGA.* 

The ancient species gf this article are numerous, and not exclu- 
sively confined to sea shells. The Indian cemeteries denote it in the 
form of bone and mineral. 

Peaga Iowan. Fig. 7, Plate 2. The material in this species is 
the red pipe stone of the west, so much valued. It is perforated lon- 
gitudinally, and was evidently worn about the neck and breast like 
the modern article of wampum. 

Class Seventh.— MUD WAMIXA. 

Ornament alone appears to have been the object of this numerous 
class of remains. Generally the object was the production of a jinj^- 
ling sound in walking. It was generally used to decorate some part 
of the dress. It assumed a great variety of shapes, and was made 
from as many species of material, including native copper. Another 
object was to inspire fear by the tread. 

Mudwamina MiSKWABic.f Fig. 11, Plate I. The article figured 
is three-fourths of an inch in length, bell shaped, and composed of 
native copper, beat very thin. Onondaga. 

MuDWAMiNA OssiNict Fig. 8, Plate 2. Material, red pipe stnnr, 
perforated. Onondaga. 

MuDWAMiNA Wassaabic. Fig. 9, Plate 2. Material, a crystal, 
perforated. Traces of its irridescence. Probably a crystal of stron- 
tian. Onondaga. 

• From Peag, one of the sea -coast terms of the Algonquint, for wwiipum. 
t Copper. t Stone. 



144 [Senate 

Class Eighth.— OTOAUGUNA. 

The name is derived from Otowug, meaning implements of, or relat- 
ing to the ear. It is a noun inanimate in a. Under this head all 
pendants and ornaments for the ear are comprised. 

Otoauguna Statuesque. Fig. 3, Plate IV. This pendant for 
the ear is made out of sea shell. It bears eight perpendicular and 
foiir transverse dots. Locality, old fort, site near Jamesville. On- 
ondasa. 




Otoauguna Pyramidal. Fig. 2, Plate I. This article varies in 
size, in the specimens examined, from nine-tenths to one and five-tenths 
inch, in the greatest length. It is an inequilateral triangle, generally, 
as here shown, varying to a very acute truncated prism reversed. 
Thickness from four to six lines. Perforated. Material, red pipe 
stone. Locality, Onondaga county. 

Otoauguna Bifurcate. Fig. 4, Plate I. Length eight-tenths 
inch. Perforated. Red pipe stone. Onondaga county. 

Otoauguna Quadralateral. Fig. 5, Plate 2. Material, red 
pipe stone. Onondaga county. 

Class Ninth. — MS* 

The number and variety of sea and sometimes fresh water shells 
worn by the ancient aborigines, has not been ascertained, but is large. 
They are uniformly found to be univalves. ^ 

lEs Marginella. Fig. 10, Plate I. This species was first de- 
tected in the Grave Creek mound. It is a marginella. The figure 
is, incidentally, inexact. Onondaga. 



• >f:;s, a generic name for a shell — Algonquin. 



No. 24.] 145 

Class Tenth.— OCHALIS.* 

This class of ornaments were worn as pendants from the inner car 
tilage of the nose. The material of nose-jewels in modern limes, 
when worn, is, generally, silver or some metal. Anciently bone or 
shell were the chief substances. 

OcHALis Oda-a.j Plate 1, Fig. 3. The material is a part of 
some massy species of sea shell. The outer coating is' partially de- 
composed, exhibiting an opaque, limy appearance. Length, eight- 
tenths of an inch — rounded, heart-shaped. Onondaga. [J. V. V. 
Clarke.] 

• From the Shawanoe word Ochali, a nose. \ Heart-»haped, or like. 



[Senate, No. 24.J 19 



No. 24. J 147 



VIL ORAL TRADITIONS OF TflE IROQUOIS-IIIS. 
TORICAL AND SYMBOLICAL. 



This department of the inquiry constitutes one of deep and varied 
interest. It is found, however, that no little time is required to 
study, compare and arrange such parts of the matter as have claims 
to be considered historical, whilst those which are symbolical or ficti- 
tious, take so wide a range as hardly to justify, in this report, the 
space which they would occupy. Specimens drawn from both classes 
of matter are introduced in the following papers, which, together 
with those inserted under the first head of " Minutes," will serve to 
convey a proper idea of this species of lore. 



[a.] Ancient Shipwreck of a vessel from the old workl 

on the coast. 

Whilst the northern tribes lived under the ancient confederacy 
before named, on the banks of the St. Lawrence and its waters, and 
before they had yet known white men, it is afHrmed that a fon-ign 
ship came on the northern coasts, but being driven by stress of 
weather, passed southward, and was wrecked in that quarter. Most of 
the crew perished, but a few of them, dressed in leather, reached the 
shore, and were saved with some of their implements. Tliey were 
received by a people called the Falcons,* who conducted them to a 
mountain, where, however, they remained but a short time, for their 
allies, the Falcons, disclosed an unfriendly and jealous spirit, and 
threatened them. In consequence they immediately selected another 
location, which they fortified. Here they lived many years, became 



• One of the totems and clans of the Iroquois, is the hawk, or &lcon. 



148 [Senate 

numerous and extended their settlements, but in the end, they were 
destroyed by furious nations. 

This tradition is divested of some of the symbolic traits which it 
possesses in the original, and by which the narrators may be supposed 
to have concealed their own acts of hostility or cruelty, in the extir- 
pation of the descendants of the Europeans thus cast on their shores. 
To this end, they represent in the original, the saving of the crew to 
have been done through the instrumentality of carniverous birds, and 
attribute the final destruction of the colony to fierce animals. It is 
one of the well known facts of history that none of the vessels of 
Columbus, Cabot, Verrizani, Sir Walter Raleigh, or Hudson, were 
wrecked on the American coasts : and there is hence a bare presump- 
tion that some earlier voyage or adventure from the old world is 
alluded to. 

Can we suppose that in this dim tradition there is light cast on the 
lost colony of Virginia, which was first left on the island of Roanoke 1 
The Tuscaroras,* who preserve the tradition, came to western New- 
York from that quarter. They were a fierce, powerful and warlike 
nation, having in 17] 2 resolved on the massacre, on a certain day, of 
all the whiles in the Carolinas. What is once done by natives, bar- 
barous or civilized, is often the reproduction of some prior national 
act, and especially if that act had been attended with success ; and it 
is by no means improbable that in this desperate and bloody resolve 
of 1712, the Tuscaroras meant to repeat the prior tragedy of " Croa- 
tan."* Whether, however, the incident be of ante-Columbian or 
post-Columbian date, it is worthy preservation, and may be assigned 
its place and proper importance when we have gleaned more facts 
from the dark abyss of American antiquity. 



[b.] Forays into the country of the Cherokees and Ca- 

tawbas. 

Nothing is more distinct or better settled in the existing traditions 
of the Iroquois, than their wars with some of the southern tribes, 

• This tribe have also the clan of the hawk or falcon. 
t Vide Hackluit. 



No. 24.J 149 

particularly the Cherokees. I found this subject first alluded to among 
the Oneidas, who were hotly engaged in this southern war ; after- 
wards among the Onondagas, the Senecas of Tonawanda, the Tus- 
caroras, and with still increasing particularity, among the Senecas 
of Buffalo, Cattaraugus, and Teonigono. But I was never able to 
fix the era of its commencement, or to find an adequate cause for it. 
It seems almost incredible that a war of this kind should have been 
carried on, at such a great distance from their central council fire at 
Onondaga, yet nothing is better established in their reminiscences. 

They first came into contact, as Tetoyoah told me was his opinion, 
in the western prairies. The Iroquois are known to have hunted and 
warred far and wide in that quarter. The two nations seem to have 
been deeply and mutually exasperated. Tetoyoah spoke of an act of 
horrid treachery, the breaking of a peace pledge, and the murder of 
a peace deputation. 

The war, ho\vever, instead of calling out the banded energies of 
the confederacy, appears to have been ahnost entirely one of a par- 
tizan character. It is memorable rather for partial enterprizes and 
personal exploits, than for exhibiting the grander features of the 
military policy of the Iroquois. Warriors tested their bravery and 
heroism by going against the Cherokees. There were, it seems, no 
great armies, no grand battles. All was left to individual energy 
and courage. The great object of every young Iroquois, as soon as 
he was old enough to take the war path, was to go against the Che- 
rokees. A march from the Oneida stone, the Kasonda creek, or the 
Genesee valley, to the southern Allei:hanies, was regarded as a mere 
excursion or scouting trip. This long journey was performed with- 
out provisions, or any other preparation than bows, arrows and 
clubs. The fewer there were in one of these partizan enterprizes, 
the greater was their chance of concealment and success. They relied 
on the forest for food. Thousands of miles were not sufficient to 
dampen their ardor, and no time could blot out their hatred. They 
called the Cherokees, by way of derision. We vau dah, and O vau 
DAH, meaning a people who live in caves. These are the terms I 
found to be in use for the Cherokee nation, in 1845. 



150 [Senate 



[c] Exploit of Hi-a-de-o-ni. 

The following incident in the verbal annals of Iroquois hardihood 
and heroism, was related to me by the intelligent Seneca Tetoyoah, 
(William Jones of Cattaraugus) along with other reminiscences of the 
ancient Cherokee wars. The Iroquois thought life was well lost, if 
they could gain glory by it. 

Hi-A-DE-o-Ni, said he, was the father of the late chief Young 
Kinf. He was a Seneca warrior, a man of great prowess, dexterity, 
and swiftness of foot, and had established his reputation for courage 
and skill, on many occasions. He resolved, while the Senecas were 
still living on the Genesee river, to make an incursion alone into the 
country of the Cherokees. He plumed himself with the idea, that 
he could distinguish himself in this daringadventure, and he prepared 
for it, according to the custom of warriors. They never encumber 
themselves with baggage. He took nothing but his arms, and the 
meal of a little parched and pounded corn.* The forest gave him 
his meat. 

Hi-A-DE-o-Ni reached the confines of the Cherokee country in 
safety and alone. He waited for evening before he entered the pre- 
cincts of a villrge. He found the people engaged in a dance. He 
watched his opportunity, and when one of the dancers went out from 
the ring into the bushes, he despatched him with his hatchet. In 
this way he killed two men that night, in the skirts of the woods, 
without exciting alarm, and toolc their scalps and retreated. It was 
late when he came to a lodge, standing remote from the rest, on his 
course homeward. Watching here, he saw a young man come out, 
and killed him as he had done the others, and took his scalp. Look- 
ing into the lodge cautiously, he saw it empty, and ventured in with 
the hope of finding some tobacco and ammunition, to serve him on 
his way home. 



• One table spoonful of this mixed with sugar and water will sustain a warrior twenty- 
four hours witliout meat. 



No. 24.] 151 

While thus busied in searching the lodge, he heard footsteps at the 
door, and immediately threw himself on the bed from which tlic young 
man had risen, and covered his face, feigning sleep. They proved 
to be the footsteps of his last victim's mother. She, supposing him 
to be her son, whom she had a short time before left lyintj there, 
said, " My son, I am going to such a place, and will not be back till 
morning." He made a suitable response, and the old woman w«-nt 
out. Insensibly he fell asleep, and knew nothing till morning, when 
the first thing he heard was the mother's voice. She, careful for her 
son, was at the fireplace very early, pulling some roasted squashes 
out of the ashes, and after putting them out, and telling him, she left 
them for him to eat ; she went away. He sprang up instantly, and 
fled ; but the early dawn had revealed his inroad, and he was hotly 
pursued. Light of foot, and having the start, he succeeded in reach- 
ing and concealing himself in a remote piece of woods, where he laid 
till night, and then pursued his way towards the Genesee, which, in 
due time he reached, bringing his three Cherokee scalps as trophies of 
his victory and prowess. 

Such are the traditionary facts which are yet repeated by the Iro- 
quois, to console their national pride in their decline. Tiie incident 
reminds one strongly of the class of daring personal deeds of the 
noted Adirondack Piskaret, as related by Colden ; and it demon- 
strates how soon the daring traits of one ruling tribe may be adopted 
and even surpassed by another. 

The Tonawandas, who are Senecas, appear to have preserved more 
distinct recollections of the origin of this war. Hohoef.vi-h,* stated 
to me, as did Tetoyoah, that it originated from the contact of their 
hunting parties on the plains of the southwest. But the latter 
affirms, that the Cherokees were the original offenders, by robbing and 
plundering a Seneca hunting party, and taking away their skins. 
Retaliation ensued. Tragic scenes of surprise and treachery soon 
followed. The Five Nations took up the matter in all their 
strength. They, contrary to wiiat is above intimated, raisc«l 
large war-parties, and marched through the country to the Che 
rokee borders, and brought away scalps and prisoners. There are 
now, he added, descendants of the Cherokees in the third degree 



J. A. SanJfonl. 



152 [Senate 

living on the Tonawanda reservation. Le Fort, an Onondaga chief, 
speaking on the same subject, said that there was, some years ago, a 
chief of pure Cherokee blood, by father and mother, living among 
them. He had been taken captive when a mere child. The fact 
being revealed to him after he had obtained the chieftaincy, he went 
to seek his relatives in the south, and to live and die among them ; 
but after every inquiry, he was unable to find them. The memory of 
the event of his loss was forgotten. He lingered a time, and then 
came back to the Senecas, and died among them — an example of that 
severe principle in the policy of this people, which has been before 
referred to, imder the term of We hait wa tsha, i. e. flesh cut in 
pieces, and scattered amongst the tribes. 

Iroquois tradition on this subject is the same now that it was in 
1794. During this year, the interpreters told Col. Timothy Picker- 
ing, who was a commissioner on the part of the United States, that 
there were then living, warriors of the Six Nations, who had marched 
the whole distance to the Cherokee county, and attacked the latter. 
In proof of the former wars, they showed him a chief, who was a na- 
tive Cherokee, born in the Cherokee country, who had been captured 
when a boy, and invested with this honor in mature life by the Sene- 
cas.* While the foregoing tradition of living Iroquois is strengthened 
by this coincidence, we are, at the same time, furnished by the 
latter with a proof that the Iroquois policy was favorable to the 
rise of talent and bravery, and that whatever be the checks pro- 
vided by the Toxemic system, on the descent of chiefs, the elective 
feature was ever strongly marked upon their entire government and 
policy. 

• Yatas and Moulton, p. 232. 



No. 24.J ,53 



t^.] Embassy of Peace to the Cherokees, ami Darin- Feat 

of a Seneca. ^ 

In the course of the long and fierce war between the Six Nations 
and the Cherokees, it happened, said Oliver Siiverhcels, that eight 
Senecas determined to go on an embassy of peace. Amoni,' them 
was Little Beard, the elder, an.! Jack Berry. They met some 
Cherokees on the confines of the Cherokee territories, to whom they 
imparted their object. Intelligence of this interview was sent for- 
ward to their village, where the ambassadors were duly received, and 
after this preliminary reception, they were introduced to the ruling 
chiefs, and favorably received by the Cherokee council. 

All but one of the Cherokee chiefs agreed to the terras of pence 
He also would consent, if, prior to the treaty, the eight Seneca dele- 
gates would first consent to go to war against their enemies, situate! 
south of them. [Who their enemies were is not mentioned. | They 
consented, and set out with a war party. A fight ensued in whi.h 
the leader of the Senecas, called Awl, was taken prisoner. The 
other seven escaped. The fate of Awl was decided in the entmies 
camp, where it was determined that he should be burned at the stake. 
Preparations were made for this purpose, but as they were about to 
bind him, he claimed the privilege of a warrior, to sing his death 
song and recite his exploits by striking the post. Pleased with the 
spirit of his request, and his noble air and words, his suit was granted 
and they put a tomahawk into his hands, that he might go through 
the ceremony. He began by relating his exploits in the north. He 
recited his feats against the western Indians, adding, with the usual 
particularity, times and places, and the number of scalps taken. 
They were pleased and interested in these recitals, and quite forgot 
the prisoner, in the warrior. At last he came to the late battle, in 
which he was taken. He told how many of the Catabas, -Apalaches, 
or Muscogees (if these were the tribes) he had killed. He kindled 
with redoubled ardor as he struck the jiost with liis tomahawk, ex- 
claiming, "so many of your own peoj)le, I have killed,'' and suiting 
his actions to his words, "so many I will yet kill.'' With this he 
struck down two men, bounded through the ring and ran. Conster- 

[Senate, No. 24.] 2U 



254 [Senatb 

nation, for a moment, prevented pursuit, whicli gave him a start. 
Being swift of foot he outran his pursuers, eluded them in the woodsy 
and reached the Cherokee camp, where he found and joined his seven 
companions. 

They concluded the peace, and returned in safety to the Seneca 
country. 



[e.] The Graveyard Serpent and Corn Gianf. 

Seneca tradition states that they formerly lived on the Chippewa 
river, near Niagara Falls, Canada. One year, while thus located, 
they were visited by a calamitous sickness, and their corn was blighted. 
Their prophet dreamt, one night, that a great serpent laid under the 
village, v.'ith his head to the graveyard, and that it devoured all the 
bodies buried. This gave a most offensive breath, which was the 
cause of the sickness. 

He also dreamt that there was a great giant under the cornfieldy 
who ate up the corn. 

When he revealed these dreams to the chiefs, they determined to 
abandon the town, and immediately removed to Buffalo creek. The 
serpent soon followed them, and entered the mouth of the creek ; 
but the Great Spirit, whose especial favorites they ever were, sent 
lightning to destroy it. The monster, however, proceeded up the 
stream, until the arrows from above fell so thick, that he was obliged 
to turn. His great size made him press against the shores, and break 
off the ground, and this is the cause of the expanse of the river three 
miles above its mouth. Before he reached the mouth of the stream, 
however, the arrows had cut him apart and thus they escaped this 
scourge. 

When they went back to visit their old town on the Chippewa river, 
they found the giant who had eaten up the corn, hanging by one leg 
from the crotch of a high lodge pole, wilh his body on the ground. 
He was very meagre, and had very long and thin legs, M'ith scarcely 
any flesh on them. \W. I. C. Hosmer.] 



No. 24.J 155 

[If the above is to be reganled, as it clearly must, as an allegory 
of sickness and famine, it would have put Creek fancy to the task, to 
have concentrated the matter in a smaller compass, or to have exhibi- 
ted it in a more striking light. J 



If.] Allusion to the siege of Fon-Sluiiwix and tlic 
Battle of Oriskany. 

Seneca tradition is rife on this subject. Tetayoah says that they 
lost thirty-three chiefs in the battle of Oriskany. 

Jacob Blacksnake adds, that he has seen a book in which it was 
stated that the Senecas had burned eight ollicers taken at this battle, 
in revenge for their losses. This he contradicts, on the authority of 
his father. Governor Blacksnake, who was there. The officers had 
been asked for after the battle, by the British ; but they were refused, 
on account of their great losses. They were not, however, burned at 
the stake. It was decided that they should run the gauntlet, and they 
were killed by clubs, &c. in this ordeal. 



[g.] Defeat of the Kah-Kwahs oa Buftalo crcok. 

Some of the Senecas affirm, that it is ninety years since the battle 
with the Kah-Kwahs, on the site of the grave yard, on the Buffalo 
creek reservation, was fought. This would plac e the event in 1755, 
a date so modern, and so well known, in our colonial history, as to 
prove what a poor figure they make in attempts to adjust chrono- 
logy. If 190 years [and, perhaps, such should be the tradition,] be 
taken, the event (allowing two years for their defence) wouhl as- 
sume the precise time 1 1655] indicated for it, by one of Le .Moync's 
missionary letters, in which he says, that the war with the Erics bad 
broken out afresh in 1653. 



156 [Senate 



[k] Era of the Confederation. 

There is a tradition among portions of the Senecas, that the pre- 
sent confetleration took place four years before Hudson sailed up the 
river bearing his name. This gives A. D. 1605. This question has 
been examined in its general bearings in a prior paper. All other 
authorities indicate an earlier dale. 



[i.] Some passages of the traditions of their wars with 
monsters, giants and supernatural phenomena. 

It is proposed to narrate a few passages of their early wars with 
monsters and giants, the two prominent objects in the foreground of 
their traditions. If it be thought, in perusing them, that mythology 
and superstition mingle too freely with real events or actions, to 
which the mind makes no exception, that is a matter upon which we 
have nothing to offer. Let it rather be considered as a proof of the 
authenticity of the narrative ; for certainly there could be no stronger 
indication of a contrary character, than to find the Indian narrator 
relating a clear, consistent chain of indisputable facts and deductions, 
to fill up the foreground of his history. What is said of such crea- 
tions tallies admirably with their belief, at the present day, and har- 
monizes with itself, and with that state of proud heathendom, adventur- 
ous idolatry, and wild and roving independence in which they lived. 
Who but an Aonaod 1 w^ho but an Iroquois ? could enact such a part, 
or believe that his ancestors ever did 1 To be great, and admired 
and feared, they roved over half America in quest of beasts and 
men. Surely, the man should be allowed to tell his own story in his 
own way, with all the witchcraft and spirit-craft he has a mind to 
bring to bear upon it. 

No people in the world have ever, probably, so completely min- 
gled up and lost their early history, in fictions and allegories, types 
and symbols, as the red men of this continent. Making no sort of dis- 
tinction themselves, between the symbolic and the historical, they have 



No. 24.J IS-; 

left no distinctions to mark the true from the false. Their notions of 
a Deity, founded, apparently, upon some dreamy tradition cf original 
truth, are so subtile and divisible, and establish so heterogenous a 
connection, between spirit and matter, of all iuiaginublc forms, that 
popular belief seems to have wholly confounded the possible with 
the impossible, the natural with the supernatural. Action, so far as 
respects cause and effect, takes the widest and wildest ranj^i-, throuph 
the agency of good or evil inllutnces, wiach are put in motion alike 
for noble or ignoble ends — alike by men, beasts, devils or gods. 
Seeing some things mysterious and wonderful, he believes all things 
mysterious and wonderful ; and he is afloat, without shore or com- 
pass, on the wildest sea of superstition and necromancy. He sees a 
god in every phenomenon and fears a sorcerer in every enemy. Life, 
under such a system of polytheism and wild belief, is a constant 
scene of fears and alarms. Fear is the predominating passion, and 
he is ready, wherever he goes, to sacrifice at any altar, be the sup- 
posed deity ever so grotesque. When such a man comes to narrate 
events, he stops at nothing, be it ever so gross or puerile. He relates 
just what he believes, and unluckily he believes every thing that can 
possibly be told. A beast or a bird, or a man, or a god, or a devil, 
a stone, a serpent, or a wizzard, a wind or a sound, or a ray of light — 
these are so many causes of action, which the meanest and lowest of 
the series, may put in motion, but which shall, in his theology and 
philosophy, vibrate along the mysterious chain through the upper- 
most skies ; and life or death may, at any moment, be the reward or 
the penalty. If there be truth, mingled in the man's narrations, as 
there sometimes is, it must be judged of by the lights of reason, com- 
mon sense, science, sound philosophy and religion. It is a gnrdian 
knot for the modern historian to untie ; or it is a mass of traditionary 
chaff, from which we may, perhaps, winnow a few grains of wheat. 
Herodotus had, probably, just such materials to work upon, and he 
made the best possible use of them, by letting the events stand as 
they were given, without exercising any inductive faculty upon them, 
or telling us the why and the wherefore; or if he ever deviatiij from 
the rule, as in the case of the fishes descending the Nile, it >•> ■ ^"••- 
cies of labor which might as well have been omitted.* 



• It was designed, when these prcliininary remarks were penned, to ».1J toia* wilder 
legends than are here presi-nted, which arc, at prcs<»nf, wiUiheld. 



158 [Senate 

By the figure of a long house, the Iroquois meant to denote the 
confederated frame work of the league ; by a great tree planted, they 
symbolized its deep seated natural power, one in blood and lineage, 
and its overshadowing influence and permanency. To assail such a 
combination of stout hearts, nature they thought must send forth the 
stoutest and most appaling objects of her creation. 

The first enemy that appeared to question their power, or disturb 
their peace, was the fearful phenomenon of Ko-nea-rau-neh-neh, or 
the Flying Heads. These heads were enveloped in a beard and hair, 
flaming like fire ; they were of monstrous size, and shot through the 
air with the velocity of meteors. Human power was not adequate to 
cope with them. The priests pronounced them an emanation of some 
mysterious influence, and it remained with the priests alone, to exorcise 
them by their arts. Drum and rattle and incantation, were deemed more 
effective, than arrow or club. One evening, after they had been 
plagued a long time with this fearful visitation, the Flying Head 
came to the door of a lodge occupied by a single female and her dog. 
She was sitting composedly before the fire roasting acorns, which, as 
they become done, she deliberately took from the fire and eat. 
Amazement seized the flying head, who put out two huge black paws, 
from beneath his streaming beard. Supposing the woman to be eat- 
ing live coals he withdrew, and from that time he came no more 
among them.* 

The withdrawal of the Ko-nea-rau-neh-neh, was followed by the 
appearance of the great Onyare,! or Lake Serpent, which traversed 
the country, and by coiling himself in leading positions near the 
paths, interrupted the communication between the towns. He created 
terror wherever he went, and diffused a poisonous breath. 

Wliile this enemy yet remained in the land, and they were coun- 
celling about the best means of killing him, or driving him away, the 
country was invaded by a still more fearful enemy, namely : the Ot- 
NE-YAR-HEH, or Stouish Giauts. They were a powerful tribe from 
the wilderness, tall, fierce and hostile, and resistance to them was 
vain. They defeated and overwhelmed an army which was sent out 



•'For a poetic use of this tradition of the Heads and Stonish Giants, see HoflFman's Wilil 
Scenes, vol. 1, page 82. New-York edition of 1843. 
t Mohawk. 



No. 24.] 159 

against them, and put the whole country in loar. These giants wore 
not only of prodigious strength, but they were cannibals, {Icvouring 
men, women and children in their inroads. 

It is said by the Shawnees, that they were dcscLniicil Jrom a cer- 
tain family, which journeyed on the east side of the Mississippi, aAcr 
the vine broke, and they went towards the northwest. Abandoned 
to wandering and the hardships of the forest, they forgot the rules of 
humanity, and began at first, to eat raw flesh, and next men. Tbcy 
practiced rolling themselves in the sand, and by this means thtir 
bodies were covered with lianl skin, so that the arrows of the Iroquois 
only rattled against their rough bodies, and fell at their feet. And 
the consequence was, that they were obliged to hide in caves, and 
glens, and were brought into subjection by these fierce invaders for 
many winters, (or years.) At length the Holder of the Heavens, 
visited his people, and finding that they were in great distress, be 
determined to grant them relief, and rid them entirely of these bar- 
barous invaders. To accomplish this, he changed himself into one 
of these giants, and brandishing his heavy club, led them on, under the 
pretence of finding the Akonoshioni. When they had got near to their 
strong hold at Onondaga, night coming on, he bid them lie down in 
a hollow, telling them that he would make the attack at the custom- 
ary hour, at day-break. But at day break, having ascended a height, 
he overwhelmed them with a vast mass of rocks, where their forms 
may yet be seen. Only one escaped to carry the news of their 
dreadful fate, and he fled towards the north. 

They were thus relieved, and began to live in more security, but 
the great On-yar-he, or Lake Serpent, was yet in the country. 
Alarmed by what Tarenyawagon had done to relieve his people, and 
fearing for himself, he withdrew to the lakes, where he and his brood 
were destroyed with thunder bolts, or compelled to retire to i!''.;) 
water. 

The Five Families were so much molested with giants an«l mon- 
sters, that they were compelled to build forts to protect themselves. 
The manner of doing it was this : they built fires against trees, and 
then used their stone axes to pick off the charred part ; in this way, 
by renewing the^fire, they soon felled them ; and the fallen trunks 
were burned off in suitable lengths, in the same way, and theii set up 



160 f Senate 

according to the size and plan of the fort, a banic of earth being piled 
outside and inside. They left two gates, one to get water, and the 
other as a sally port. [D.] 

For some time after the great On-yar-iie had left the country, 
they had peace ; but in after years a still more terrific enemy came- 
It had a man's head on the body of a great serpent. This terrific foe 
took his position on the path between the Onondagas and Cayugas^ 
and thus cut off all intercourse between their towns, for this was also 
the great thoroughfare of the five families, or nations. The bravest 
warriors were mustered to attack him with spears, darts and clubs. 
They approached him on all sides with yells. A terrible battle en- 
sued ; the monster raged furiously, but he was at last pierced in a 
vital place, and finally killed. This triumph was celebrated in songs 
and dances, and the people were consoled. They hunted again in 
peace, but after a time rumors began to be rife of the appearance of 
an extraordinary and ferocious animal in various places, under the 
name of the great 0-yal-kher, or mammoth bear. One morning, 
while a party of hunters were in their camp, near the banks of a 
lake, in the Oneida country, they were alarmed by a great tumult 
breaking out from the lake. Going to see the cause of this extraor- 
dinary noise, they saw the monster on the bank rolling down stones 
and logs into the water, and exhibiting the utmost signs of rage. 
Another great animal of the cat kind, with great paws, came out of 
the water, and seized the bear, A dreadful fight ensued ; in the end 
the bear was worsted and retired, horribly lamed. The next day the 
hunters ventured out to the spot, where they found one of the fore 
legs of the bear. It was so heavy that two men were required to lift 
it, but they found it was palateable food and made use of it, for their 
warriors believe that it inspires courage to eat of fierce and brave 
animals. 

After a while, a great pestiferous and annoying creature of the 
insect tribe, appeared about the forts at Onondaga, in the guise of 
the Ge-ne-un-dah sais-ke, or huge musqueto. It first appeared in the 
Onondaga country. It flew about the fort with vast wings, making 
a loud noise, with a long stinger, and on whomsoever it lighted, it 
sucked out his blood and killed him. Many warriors were killed in 
this way, and all attempts made to subdue it were abortive, till Ta- 



No. 24.] 161 

renyawagon, or the Holder of the Heavens, was on a visit one day to 
the ruler of the Onondagas. The giant musquito happened to come 
flying about the fort, as usual at this time. Tarouyuwagon attacked 
it, but such was its rapidity of flight tliat he could scarcely korp in 
sight of it. He chased it around the bortler <>{' the great lakcj 
towards sun-setting, and round the great country at large, cast 
and west. At last he overtook it and killed it near (u-n-an-iioa, or 
the salt lake of Onondaga. From the blood ilowing out on this occa- 
sion, the present species of small musquitoes originated. 



[Senate, No. 24. J 20 



VIII. TOPICAL LNQriUIllS. 



The state of the book trade, and the importation of books into this 
country, but a few years ago, were such as to offer but scanty advan- 
tages to the pursuit of historical letters. There were but few libraries 
deserving of notice, and these were placed at remote points, spread 
over a very extensive geographical area, where access became often 
difficult or impossible. By far the largest number of American libra- 
ries were limited to a few thousand volumes, often a few hundreds 
only, and these were chiefly made up of common or elementary works 
on arts, sciences and general literature. Writers were compelled to 
consult works at second hand, and could seldom get access to scarce 
and valuable originals ; and the difficulties of making original inqui- 
ries into archeology, antiquities, philology, and otia-r mort- asbtruse, 
or less popular topics, increased at every step, and wrre in fact insur- 
mountable to men of ordinary means. This state of things will suf- 
ficiently account for the low state of historical letters up to within a 
comparatively short period, withouf impugning the judgment or saga- 
city of early observers, on our local and distinctive history ; find 
offers also a rational plea why the aboriginal branch of our antiqui- 
ties, and the just expanding science of ethnology, has been left en- 
shrouded in so much darkness and historical mystery. We have, 
in fact, not had the means of making such inquiries. The libraries 
at Harvard, the public collection set on foot by Franklin at Philadel- 
phia, the library of Congress, and that of the New-York Historical 
Society, and perhaps the growing library of the State Capitol at Al- 
bany, are some of the chief collections yet made in the L'nion ; and 
these might be conveniently stowed away, en masse, in one corner of 
the " Bibliotheque Royal '' at Paris, without exciting notice. 



164 [Senate 



[a.] Who were the Eries ? 

Louis Hennepin, who was a Recollect, remarks in the original Am- 
sterdam edition of his travels of 1698, that Canada was first disco- 
vered by the Spanish, alluding doubtless to the voyage of Cortereal 
and that it received its first missionaries under the French, from the 
order of Recollects. These pioneers of the cross, according to this 
author, made themselves very acceptable to the Hurons or Wyandots, 
who occupied the banks of the St. Lawrence, and who informed them 
that the Iroquois pushed their war parties beyond Virginia and New- 
Sweden, and other parts remote from their cantons. They went, he 
says in these wars, near to a lake, which they called Erige or Erie.* 
Now if they went " beyond Virginia and New-Sweden," they were 
very remote from Lake Erie, and the assertion implies a contradiction 
or some ignorance of the geography of the country. This name in 
the Huron language, he informs us, signifies the Cat, or Nation of the 

Cat a name, he says, which it derived from the fact that the Iroquois 

in returnino- to their cantons, brought the Erige or Erike, captives 
through it. The Canadians softened this word to Erie. It would 
appear then, that the Eries either did not occupy the immediate banks 
of the lake, or else they lived on the upper or more remote parts of 
it. To be brought captives through it, they must have been embarked 
at some distance from its lower extremity. This vague mode of ex- 
pression leaves a doubt as to the actual place of residence of this 
conquered and, so called, extinct tribe. Whether extinct or not, is 
not certain. The name is only a Wyandot name. They had others. 

From inquiries made among the Senecas, they are, some believe, 
the same people whom this nation call Kah-Kwahs. But we do not 
advance m\ich by changing one term for another. The inquiry 
returns, who were the Kah-Kwahs ? Seneca tradition affirms that 
they lived on the banks of Lake Erie, extending eastward towards 
the Genesee river, and westward indefinitely ; and that they were 
finally conquered in a war, which was closed by a disastrous battle, 
the locality of which is not fixed ; after which they were chased 

• Vide Appendix. 



No. 24.] 165 

west, and the remnant driven down the Alleghanv nvor. [Sc<. the 
subsequent paper (/.] 

Cusick, the Tuscarora archaeologist, who writes the word " Squaw- 
kihows," intimates that these were an alliliated people, and that 
the remnant after their defeat, were incorporated with the Sone- 
cas. [D.J 

Golden states that after the war with tiie Adirondarks broke out, 
say at the end of the 16th century, the Iroquois, to try their couracc, 
went to war against a nation called Satanas,* who lived on the banks 
of the lakes, whom they defeated and conquered, which raised their 
spirits so much, that they afterwards renewed the war against the 
Adirondacks and Huronsf on the St. Lawrence, and finally prevailed 
against them. [Hist. Five Nations, p. 23, Lond. ed. 1767.] 

Satanas, it appears from the same author, is a name for the Shaoua- 
nons, Shawanoes, or Shawnees, as the term is variously written • a 
tribe, it may be further remarked, who are called Chat by the modem 
Canadian French. 

A letter of the missionary Le Moyne, published in the Missionary 
" Relacions," and hereto appended, proves that the war with the 
Eries, whatever may have been its origin or former state, had newly 
broken out in 1653, and there are references of a subsequent date to 
denote that by the year 1655, this war had terminated in the disas- 
trous overthrow of this people. They appear to have been then located 
where the existing traditions of the Scnecas place them, namely, 
west of Genesee river, and at or near ButTalo. We may suppose 
that up to this period, the Senecas were limited to the eastern banks 
of the Genesee. And it was probably the results of this war that 
transferred their council fire from the present site of Geneva or 
Canandaigua to the Genesee valley. 



• This word appears to be an English soubriqua, dcrired from Ihe Dutch lanftac** •■^ 
is from Satan, a synonyme for Duivel. [Sec Jansen's new Pocket DictioMry, Dortrmciit 
1831 .] The plural inflection in a, if this derivation be correct, ii duplicated in itj niMa- 
ing, by the corresponding English inflection in *, a practice quite conformable to fjifiiak 
orthoepy, which puts its vernacular plural to loreign plurali, u Cherubim* for Chara- 
bim, &c. 

t Called Quatoghies by the Iroquoit. 



166 [Senate 

When La Salle reached the Niagara river in 1679, but twenty-four 
years after the close of this Erie war, he found the entire country on 
its eastern or American banks in the possession of the Senecas. [J.] 
The history and fate of the Eries was then a tradition. 

We may here drop the inquiry to be resumed at a future period. 



[b.] Building of the first vessel on the upper lakes. 

The enterprise of Sa Salle, in constructing a vessel above the falls 
of Niagara, in 1679, to facilite his voyage to the Illinois and the 
Mississippi, is well known ; but while the fact of his having thus been 
the pioneer of naval architecture on the upper lakes, is familliar to 
historical readers, the particular place of its construction, has been 
matter of various opinions. Gen. Cass in his historical discourse, 
places it at Erie ; Mr. Bancroft in his history, designates the mouth 
of the Tonawanda, Mr. b'parks in the biography of Marquette, 
decides to place it on the Canadian side of the Niagara. These 
variances result in a measure from the vague and jarring accounts of 
the narrators, whose works had been consulted in some instances in 
abridged or mutilated translations, and not from doubt or ambiguity 
in the missionary " Letters." 

Literary associations in America, who aimed to increase the means 
of reference to standard works, began their labors in feebleness. The 
New-York Historical Society, which dates its origin in 1804, and has 
vindicated its claims to be the pioneer of historical letters in America, 
published Tonti's account of the Chevalier La Salle's enterprise, in 
one of the volumes of its first series. It is since known, however, 
that this account was a bookseller's compilation from, it is believed 
generally correct sources, but it was disclniinod by Tonti. It is at 
least but an abreviation, and cannot be regarded as an o.iginal 
work. 

In 1820, the American Antiquarian Society published in their first 
volume of collections, an account of Hennepin discoveries, which is 
known to bibliographers to be a translation of a mere abridgment of 



No. 24.] 107 

the original work, reduced to less than half iis volume of matter. 
There was also an edition of this author, publi.Mu-d in London in 
169S ; but still clipped of some of its matter, or otherwise defi-ctire- 
the tastes and wants of an English public: beini; constantly consulled 
in the admission of continental books of this cast. The original work 
of Hennepin was published in French, at Ainster<iam in IfiDS. Beine 
of the order of Recollects, and not a Jesuit, there was much fcelinR 
and prejudice against him in France, of whi. h Ciiarlevoix,thc accom- 
plished historian of New-France, partook in no small degree. Yet 
whatever may have been the justice or injustice of these impcarh- 
ments of the missionary's veracity, there could be no motive for 
disagreement in a fact of this kind. 

Hennepin was the camp missionary of the party on the way to 
Illinois, and the companion of La Salle and Tonti on the occa- 
sion. By adverting to his narrative, in the appendix, the most 
satisfactory and circumstantial details on this subject will be found. 
The vessel, according to him, was built '• two leagues above the 
falls," that is, about three miles above the present site of fort Srhlos- 
ser, on Cayuga creek. There is no stream, at this distance, on the 
Canadian side. They reached the spot on the 22d of January, set up 
the keel on the 26th, and, after laboring all winter, amidst di.scou- 
ragements, during which the Senecas threatened to burn it, at one 
time, and refused to sell corn to support the workmen, at another, it 
was launched in the spring, and named the Griffin, " in allusion to 
the arms of the Count de Frotenac, which was supported by two 
griflSns." The figure of a griffin adorned the prow, surmounted by 
an eagle, the symbolic type of the embryo power, which was destin* 
ed, in due time, to sway the political destinies of the continent. 
There were seven small cannon, and thirty persons, including the 
crew. With great difficulty, and by the use of the cordelU^ they 
ascended the rapids, the present site of Black- Rock, and finally, after 
many delays, they set sail, freighted with merchandize, on the 7th 
of August, 1679, just six months and twelve days after they had laid 
the keel. Thus the honor of furnishing the first vessel on our ^eat 
chain of inland lakes, above the falls, is due to the present area of 
Niagara county, New-York. How this initiatory step haj b«*n fol- 
lowed up, in the course of one hundred and sixty-seven years, until 
these lakes are whitened by the canvass of the republic, and deco- 



168 [Senate 

rated with its self-moving palaces of wood and iron, under the guise 
of steamboats, it would be interesting to note. But we have no sta- 
tistics of this kind to turn to. As an increment in such an inquiry, 
I subjoin, in the appendix, lists kept at my office, in the west, of the 
various species of vessels, which entered and departed from the re- 
mote little harbor of Michilimackinac, during the sailing seasons of 
1839 and 1840, respectively. 



[c.j Who were the Alleghans ? 

This is an inquiry in our aboriginal archgeology, which assumes a 
deeper interest, the more it is discussed. All the republic is con- 
cerned in the antiquarian knowledge and true etymology and history 
of an ancient race, to whom tradition attaches valor and power, and 
who have consecrated their name in American geography upon the 
most important range of mountains between the valley of the Missis- 
sippi, and the Atlantic. But the inquiry comes home to us with a 
local and redoubled interest, from the fact, that they occupied a large 
portion of the western area of the State, comprising the valley of the 
Alleghany river to its utmost source, and extending eastward !y an 
undefined distance. Even so late as 1727, Golden, in his history of 
the Five Nations, places them under the name of " Alleghens," on 
his map of this river. It is not certain that they did not anciently, 
occupy the country as far east and south as the junction of Allen^s 
creek, with the Genesee. A series of old forts, anterior in age 
to the Iroquois power, extends ^along the shores of lake Erie, 
up to the system of water communication which has its outlet into 
the Alleghany through the Conewongo. There are some striking 
points of identity between the character of these antique military 
works, and those of the Ohio valley, and this coincidence is still 
more complete in the remains of ancient art found in the old 
Indian cemeteries, barrows and small mounds of western New-York, 
extending even as far east as the ancient Osco, now Auburn. 

The subject is one worthy of full examination, who this ancient 
race were ? whence they came 1 and whither they went ? are 



No. 24. J 169 

inquiries fraught with interest. We should not ho led astray, or 
thrown off the track of investigation by the name. All the tribe* 
ancient and modern, have multiform names. This one of the Alle- 
ghans, probably fell upon the ears of the first stltlrrs, hut it is far 
from certain that it was their own term, while it is quite certain 
that it was not of the vocabulary of the bold northern race the 
Iroquois, who impinged upon them. It has the character of an 
Algonquin word. Their descendants, whoever their ancestors were, 
may yet exist, under their own proper name, in the far west. The 
Iroquois, who pushed their conquests down the Alleghany and 
Ohio rivers after them, did not found a claim to territory further 
south on the Ohio river, than the mouth of the Kentucky. They 
pushed their war parties to the Catawba and Cherokee territories 
across the Alleghanies, and as far west as the Illinois. They swept 
over the whole region included between lakes Ontario, Erie and Hu- 
ron, north. In the latter case we know it was a war against the 
tribes of the Algonquin stock, including one branch of another, 
and that their o\vn generic stock, namely, the Quatoghies or Hurons. 

The following communication on this subject, addressed to the 
Secretary of the Maryland Historical Society, is added in this con- 
nection. Although written to vindicate a question of antiquarian 
research, in a sister society, and partaking perhaps a little of a polemic 
cast, the facts are of permanent interest, and are thrown together in 
a brief and concentrated form. 

J^ew-Yorlc^ May 2Sth, li>45. 
Gentlemen :* 

My attention has been called by a literary friend, to your notice of 
Mr. Brantz Mayer's report on the subject of a national name, or dis- 
tinctive synonyroe for our country. Mr. Mayer having chosen to 
reflect upon the antiquarian value of the historical research involved 
in the inquiry, I feel called upon, as a member of the committee of 
the New-York Historical Society, before whom this question was dis- 
cuused, to say a few words in reply. 

" The following quotation from my * Glossary of Anglo-Indian 
Words,' will best set forth my personal connection with the subjt-rt 



• Addressed to the Editors of tlie New-York Evening Poitand NationaJ IoUlligtac«r. 

[Senate, No. 24.] 22 



170 [Senate 

as a member of the society, and a humble laborer in the field of abo- 
riginal antiquities, who is ready at all suitable times, to give autho- 
rity for the use of whatever Indian terms he may employ, 

" Mleghan, an obsolete aboriginal noun proper, applied adjectively 
both in French and English, to an ancient and long extinct people in 
North America, and likewise to the most prominent chain of moun- 
tains within the regions over which they are supposed to have borne 
sway." 

Our authorities respecting the ancient Alleghans, are not confined 
to the very late period, i. e. 1819,* which is alone quoted, and exclu- 
sively relied on by the learned secretary of the Maryland Historical 
Society. Nor do they leave us in doubt, that this ancient people^ 
who occupy the foreground of our remote aboriginal history, were a 
valiant, noble and populous race, who were advanced in arts and the 
policy of government, and raised fortifications for their defence. 
(N. Y. Hist. Col. vol. 2, p. S9, 91.) While they held a high repu- 
tation as hunters, they cultivated maize extensively, which enabled 
them to live in large towns; (Davies' Hist. Car. Isds.) and erected 
those antique fortifications which are extended over the entire Missis- 
sippi valley, as high as latitude 43°, and the lake country, reaching 
from Lake St. Clair (Am. Phil. Trans.) to the south side of the Nia- 
gara ridge (the old shore of Lake Ontario) and the country of the 
Onondagas and Oneidas (Clinton's Dis. N. Y. Hist. Soc. vol. 2.) 
Towards the south, they extended as far as the borders of the Chero- 
kees and Muscogees.f From the traditions of Father Raymond, they 
were worshippers of the sun, had an order of priesthood, and exer- 
cised a sovereignty over a very wide area of country. (His. Carib. 
Isds. Paris, 1658. London ed. of 1666, p. 204, et seq.) 

At what era the Alleghan confederacy, thus shadowed forth, ex- 
isted and fell in North America, we do not know. Our Indian nations 
have no certain chronology, and we must establish data by contempo- 
raneous tradition of the Mexican nations, or by internal antiquarian 
evidence. 



•aXrans. Hist, and Lit. Com. Am. Phil. Soc. Vol. 1, Philadelphia, 1819. 
t Seneca tradition, N, Y. Hisrt. Col. vol. 2. 



No. 24.] 171 

The '' Old Fort" discovered by Dr. Locke in Highland Co. Oh.o 
in 1838, denoted a period of GOO years from its abandonment,* that 
is, 284 years before Christopher Columbus fust sailed boldly into the 
Western oeean. The trees on Grave Creek mound denote the aban- 
donment of the trenches and stone look-outs in that vicinity to have 
been in 1338. (Trans. Am. Ethnological Society, vol. 1, N, Y. 
1845.) The ramparts at Marietta had a tree decayed in the heart 
but the concentric outer circles, which could be counted, were 463. 
(Clinton's Dis.) The live oaks on the low mounds of Florida, where 
one of the Algonquin tribes, namely, the Shawnecs, aver that they 
once lived and had been preceded by a people more advanced in arts 
(Vid-e Arch, Am. vol. 1.) denote their abandonment about 1145. 
But even these data do not, probably reach back sufficiently far, to 
denote the true period. 

If we fix upon the twelfth century as the era of the fall of the 
Alleghan race, we shall not probably over estimate the event. They 
had probably reached the Mississippi valley, a century or two before, 
having felt, in their original position, west and south of that stream, 
the great revolutionary movements which preceded the overthrow of 
the To] lee and the establishment of the AvAec empire in Mexican 
America. 

There are but two words left in our geography, supposed to be 
of the ancient Alleghan language. These are Alleghany, and Yiog- 
hiogany, the latter, being the name of a stream which falls into the 
Monongahela, on its right bank, about twenty miles above Pitts- 
burgh. 

Tradition, not of the highest character, gives us the words Tal- 
ligeu, or Talligwee, as the name of this ancient nation, although it is 
nearly identical in sounds with tlie existing and true name of the 
Cherokees, which, according to the late Elias IJoudinot, (a Chero- 
kee,) is TsALLAKEE, Col. Gibson, a plain man, an In(han trader 
and no philologist, who furnished Mr. Jefferson with Indian vocabu- 
laries of the dialects of his day, to be used in answer to the inquirieji 
of Catherine the Great, (vide Trans. Royal Academy, Petersburgh,) 
expressed an opinion that this ancient people did not use a T before 
the epithet, but were called Allegewee. Tradition has, however, 
strictly speaking, preserved neither of these terms, although both 

• Cincinnati Gazette. 



172 [Senate 

appear to hare strong affinities with them. The word Alleghany has 
come down to us, from the earliest times, as the name of the great 
right-band fork of the Ohio, and also as the name, from the same 
remote period of antiquity, of the chain of mountains of which the 
stream itself may be said to he the most remote northeasterly tribu- 
tary. In this form it is evidently a local term, applied geographi- 
cally, according to the general principles of the Indian languages,, 
like hanna in the Susquehanna, and hannock in the Rappahannock, 
which appear to denote, in each ease, a rivf r, or torrent of water- 
By removing this local inflection, we have Alleghan as the proper 
term for the people, and I have felt sustained, by this inductive pro- 
cess, in regarding Alleghan as the original cognomen of the " mound 
bvilders" of North America. 

Having thus given my views with respect to the particular word 
which awakened this discussion, permit me now to turn to the other 
matters, so confidently brought forward by the secretary of the Ma- 
ryland Historical Society. 

The Iroquois affirm that they formerly lived in the area of the 
Cherokee country. (Clin. Dis. N. Y. H. Soc, vol.) Captain Smith 
met a war party of this nation, in exploring one of the rivers of Vir- 
ginia in 1608. So late as the era of the settlement of North Caro- 
lina, they brought off to the north the last of their cantons, in the 
tribe of the Tuscaroras. They sold the lands as far south as Ken- 
tucky river. (Tmlay's Hist. Kent.) They quitclaimed the soil in 
northern Virginia and Maryland, an 1 they quite forbid all sales of 
land by the Delawares. All amtborities, indeed, concur in showing 
the track of their migration, prior to 1600, to have been from the 
south to the north and northeast. Affiliation of language is also 
thought to denote their origin in the south. (Vide Gallatin, 2 vol. 
Archa. Amer.) The Hurons, who are of the same stock, affirm that 
they were originally the first of all the nations, and call the Lena- 
pees, who have assumed the same distinction, nephews, denoting 
inferiority in the chronological and ethnological chain. In this term 
of nephews, so applied to the Delawares, all the Iroquois tribes con- 
cur. (Vide Oncota.) 

Algonquin tradition, recorded by Mr. Heckwelder in the Am. Phi. 
Trans, in 1819, on the part of the Lenapees, denotes that a confede- 



No. 24.] 173 

ration of these two stocks, namely, the political uncles an«l nrpbcws, 
ilefeated the Alk-ghans, and drove them from the country. This tra- 
dition is referred to a time when the IJelawarcs or Lcnnpc.s, wi-n- 
shorn of all power and consequence, " having het-n dr-r;idf(l " 
according to their phrase, to assume the petticoat, and found » refuge 
in a new country, to them, on the Muskingum, where they were taken 
under the care, as thoy iiad previously been east of the mountaint 
of the Moravian brethren. In their reminiscences they wouM conse- 
quently be prone to give prominence to sucii events as would rirtcct 
the most favorable lights on their history. They are speaking of 
events which we see by the preceding references, must have transpired 
600 or 600 years before, and in a very distant quarter of the I'nion. 
Yet they add some particulars which written history alone could pre- 
serve ; and they ascribe to themselves such a degree of foresight, 
prudence, wisdom, valor and sense of Christian justice, as no Indian 
tribe in America ever evinced. These traditions are recorded by Mr. 
Heckewelder ill a spirit of Christian kindness on his part, but he does 
not vouch for them ; they are to be judged, like other traditions, by 
their probabilities and their conformity to other and known traditions. 
It is on this account that I have adduced the preceding data. Kverv 
Indian nation is prone to exalt itself, and if we would admit fully the 
claims of each, the rest would be sorry persons indeed. 

The first thing to be borne in mind is, that the tradition is a very 
ancient one, and must have come down shorn of many particulars, 
which ihere appears to have been great carefulness to re-state. The 
scene also is remote from the place of narration. No such fact as 
the principal one of the crossing, on which great stress is laid by Mr. 
Mayer, on the part of the Maryland Historical Society, could have 
taken place in the Ohio valley, or within one thousand miles of Pilt»- 
burgh, where alone, it must be remembered, we have any evidence in 
the existing names of the country of the resilience of the .\lleghans. 

The Algonquins, (we include the Lenapees in their proper groupe,) 
attempting to cross the Mississippi, into the territories of a foreign 
nation, with a large body of men, are defeated and driven hark. 
They show themselves pacifically, in a moderate numUr, and the 
foreigners say, come ! but turning out a multitude, are asnilcd. 
Whether this was an original stratagem, or an afier thought, we are 



174 [Senate 

]eft to infer, but in either case, it would be quite conformable to Indian 
j olicy. For the sake of clearness, we will locate this event in the 
section of this great river, between the Chickasaw bluffs and Natchez, 
its probable site. On this defeat they form an alliance with their 
uncles, the Iroquois, who were already east of the Mississippi, and 
were located north of the Alleghans. A long war begins, in the 
course of which the latter erect the fortifications which have excited 
so much curiosity in the Mississippi and Ohio valleys, and after pro- 
vino- themselves valient men, are finally overpowered and driven off. 
The Lenapees are in 1819 the historians of their enemies, and berate 
them as faithless. The Maryland Historical Society, twenty-six 
years later, endorse the whole story, and pronounce the AUeghans pusil- 
lanimous, not so much it would seem for their heroic struggle and 
defence, as for the cause of it, namely, not letting the Algonquin 
hordes march into or through their country, as the superior forecast 
and judgment of the latter might, on further progress, dictate. 

Does any sound historian ? does any one acquainted with Indian 
life, character or history, as it exists, and has always existed in North 
America, believe that the pacific and Christian request, put forth by 
Mr. Heckewelder, as the chronicler of his Delaware converts at Gna- 
denhutton, namely, that they might be allowed to explore a country 
east of them, to select it out and dwell therein, or that they had pre- 
viously had the prudence, energy and forecast to send spies, like 
Moses, to spy it out — as if they were seeking a country for an agri- 
cultural settlement, with flocks and implements of husbandry — I 
repeat it, does any one, who reads this detailed part of the tradition 
as told to and believed by the good old missionary, credit a syllable 
of it? If he does, his good-natured credulity must be greater than 
that of the committee of the New-York Historical Society, whose 
suggestive report on the discussion of a distinctive national niirae has 
been the theme of so much misconception — may I not add, of so 
truly Pickwickian a degree of patriotism. 

The truth is, this suggestion of a peaceful passage for the great 
Algonquin army, is to be found originally in the 20th chapter of 
Numbers, in the demand made, by divine direction, by the Jewish 
leader for a safe passport through the land of Edom, for the faithful 



No. 24.J 175 

performance of which there was a ilivine guaranty. And when the 
kind father had taught this historical lesson to his peaceable disciples 
on the banks of the Muskingum, he did not perceive, in afterwards 
putting down the traditions of his favorite Delawares, how complete- 
ly they had adapted a sacred event to the exigencies of savage life 
in a host of lawless invaders in the American wilderness, in the 12th 
century. 

But we are not only to take this entire tradition of 1819 of an 
event happening 600 years before, in extenso, with all its moral ex- 
actness of motive, in the original actors, without any abatements or 
corrections required by other traditions or history, but the good father 
whose moral excellence is pure and unimpeachable, but who was no 
philologist, aims to make the existing lexicography of the Delaware 
prove the tradition ; and we have, in a foot note, a forced etymolofry 
of the name of the river Mississippi, to demonstrate that this is a 
Delaware name. Now, the name of this river is not " Namaesa 
Sipu," that is, sturgeon, trout,'[or as he gives it, " fish river,'' but 
Missi-sippi — a derivative from the adjective great^ in an aboriginal 
sense, and sippi, a river. Mr. Gallatin (Archa. Am. vol. 2) is inclin- 
ed to believe that it should be translated " the whole river," or a unity 
of waters, but neither he nor any other commentator, has been able to 
make " fish" out of " missi." The merest tyro in the Indian lan- 
guages, must perceive that the etymology does not bear the meaning 
of Fish river, and if it did, it would prove, contrary to their repu- 
tation, that the Indians give the most inappropriate geographical 
names, of all men in existence. Fish river would be the most nial- 
appropriate name for the Mississippi. Its turbed waters and rushing 
channel, surcharged with floating trees, and subject to a thousand 
physical mutations every season, is absolutely forbidding to the larger 
number of species, and favorable only to the coarser kinds which are 
rejected from the table of the epicure. 

A single remark more. The Delawares have never lived, or held 
an acre of land on the Mississippi, in its whole course between Itasca 
lake and the Balize. When Penn came to America, they lived on 
the Delaware, in central Pennsylvania. They were ordered to quit 
the sources of the Delaware river by the Iroquois in 1742, and go to 



176 [Senate 

Wyoming or Shamoken.*. They found their way across the Alle- 
ghanies, in time to burn Col. Crawford at the stake,! and oppose the 
settlement of the Ohio valley, prior to the revolution ; they settled 
on the Muskingum, and after some afflictions and mutations, chiefly 
brought upon themselves, they accepted lands, and began to recross 
the Mississippi in 18l8t . They are now located on the west banks 
of the Missouri, on the Konza. Yet the etymology adverted to 
attributes to this tribe, not only the naming of the river upon which 
they never lived, and never held any lands, but presupposes, that the 
Illinois and other Algonquin nations living on its banks, above the 
influx of the Ohio and the Missouri, to whom, with the influence of 
the French, the actual name is due, preserved the Delaware term 
" Namffisa Sepu," although it is neither used by their descendants nor 
by Europeans. 



[d.] War with the Kah Kwahs. 

Some inquiries have been made in a prior paper, on the strong proba- 
bilities of this people, being identical with the Ererions or Eries. While 
this question is one that appears to be within the grasp of modern 
inquiry, and may be resumed at leisure, the war itself, with the peo- 
ple whom they call Kah-Kwahs, and we Eries is a matter of popular 
tradition, and is alluded to with so many details, that its termination 
may be supposed to have been an event of not the most ancient 
date. Some of these reminiscences having found their way into the 
newspapers during the summer^ in a shape and literary garniiure, 
which w'as suited to take them from the custody of sober tradition, 
and transfer them to that of romance, there was the more interest 
attached to the subject, which led me to take some pains to ascertain 
how general or fresh their recollections of this war might be. 



• CoUlen's Hist. Five Nations, vol. 1. p. 31. 
\ Metcalf's Indian Wars in the West. 

X This is tlie first time that this tribe ever by history, or trailition, other than their own, 
saw this river. 
§ See Buffalo Com. Adv, 12th July, 1845, article " Indian Tradition." 



No. 24.] 177 

My inquiries were answered one evenini; at the mission houw at 
Buffalo, by the Allep;nny ciiief, H.k-yek-dvoh-K.-nh, or the Woo.l- 
cutter, better known, by his En^^lish name of Jacob IJlacksnake. Hr 
stated that the Kah-Kwahs had their chief residence at the time of 
their final defeat, on the Eighteen-mile creek. The name by which 
he referred to them, in this last place of their rcsi.lenre, mipht be 
written perhaps with more exactitude to the native t'.ngue, Gah 
Gwah-ge-o-nuh— but as this compound word embraces the idia* of 
locality and existence along with their peculiar name, there is a 
species of tautology in retaining the two inflections. They arc not 
necessary in the English, and besides in common use, I found them 
to be generally dropt, while the sound of G naturally changed in 
common pronunciation into that of K. 

Blacksnake commenced by sayi-ig, that while the Senecas lived 
east of the Gcnessee, they received a challenge from the Kah-Kwalis 
to try their skill in ball playing and athletic sports. It was accepted, 
and after due preliminaries, the challengers came, accompanied by 
their prime young men, who were held in great repute as wrestlers 
and ball-players. The old men merely came an witnesses, while this 
trial was made. 

The first trial consisted of ball playing, in which, after a sharp 
contest, the young Senecas came off victorious. The next trial con- 
sisted of a foot race between two, which terminated also in favor of 
the Senecas. The spirit of the Kah-Kwas was galled by these de- 
feats. They immediately got up another race on the instant, which 
was hotly contested by new runners, but it ended in their losing the 
race. Fired by these defeats, and slill confident of their superior 
strength, they proposed wrestling, with the sanguinary condition, that 
each of the seconds should hold a drawn knife, and if his principal 
was thrown, he should instantly plunge it into his throat, ami cut off 
his head. Under this terrible penalty, the struggle commenced. The 
wrestlers were to catch their hold as best they could, but to obserre 
fair principles of wrestling. At length the Kah-Kwah was thrown, 
and his head immediately severed and tossed into the air. It fell 
with a rebound, and loud shouts proclaimec! the Senecas victor* in 
four trials. This terminated the sports, and the tribes returned to 
their respective villages. 

(Senate, No. 24. J 23 



178 [Senate 

Some time after this event, two Seneca hunters went out to hunt 
west of the Genesee river, and as the custom is, built a hunting lotlg;e 
of boughs, where they rested at night. One day, one of them went 
out alone, and having walked a long distance, was belated on his re- 
turn. He saw, as he cast his eye to a distant ridge, a large body of 
the Kah-Kwahs marching in the direction of the Seneca towns. He 
ran to his companion, and they instantly fled and alarmed the Senecas. 
They sent off a messenger post-haste to inform their confederates 
towards the east, and immediately prepared to meet their enemies. 
After about a day's march, they met them. It was near sunset when 
they descried their camp, and they went and encamped in the vicinity. 
A conference ensued, in which they settled the terms of the battle. 

The next morning the Senecas advanced. Their order of battle 
was this. They concealed their young men, who were called by the 
narrator burnt-knives,* telling them to lie flat, and not rise and join 
the battle until they received the war cry, and were ordered forward. 
With these were left the rolls of peeled bark to tie their prisoners. 
Having made this arrangement, the old warriors advanced, and began 
the battle. The contest was fierce and long, and it varied much. 
Sometimes they were driven back, or faltered in their line — again 
they advanced, and again faltered. This waving of the lines to and 
fro, formed a most striking feature in the battle for a long time. At 
length the Senecas were driven back near to the point where the 
young men were concealed. The latter were alarmed, and cried out 
" now, we are killed !" At this moment, the Seneca leader gave the 
concerted war whoop, and they arose and joined in battle. The effects 
of this reinforcement, at the time that the enemy were fatigued with 
the day's fight, were instantaneously felt. The young Senecas pressed 
on their enemies with resistless energy, and after receiving a shower 
of arrows beat down their opponents with their war clubs, and took 
a great many prisoners. The prisoners were immediately bound with 
their arms behind, and tied to trees. Nothing could resist their im- 
petuosity. 

The Kah-Kwah chiefs determined to fly, and leave the Senecas 
masters of the field. In this hard and disastrous battle, which was 

• A term lo denote their being quite young, and used here as a cant phrase for prime 
young warriors. 



No. 24.] :79 

fought by the Senecas alone, and without ai.l Irom their confederates, 
the Kah-Kwahs lost a very great number of their men, in slain and 
prisoners. But those who fled were not permitted to escape unpur- 
sued, and having been reinforced from the east, they followed thrm 
and attacked them in their residence on the Deoseowa (Buffalo creek) 
and Eighteen mile creek, which they were obliged to abandon, and 
fly to the Oheeo, [the Seneca name for the Alleghany.] 

The Senecas pursued them, in their canoes, in the descent of 
this stream. They discovered their encampment on an island in 
numbers superior to their own. To deceive them, the Senecas, on 
putting ashore, carried their canoes across a narrow peninsula, by 
means of which they again entered the river above. New parties 
appeared to the enemy, to be thus conlinuilly arriving, and led them 
greatly to over-estimate their numbers. 

This was at the close of day. In the morning not an enemy wa' 
to be seen. They had fled down the river and have never since 
appeared. It is supposed they yet exist wt-sl of the Mississippi.* 

Two characteristic traits of boasting happened in the first great 
battle above described. The Kah-Kwah women carried along, in 
the rear of the warriors, packs of moccasins, for the women and 
children, whom they expected to be made captives in the Seneca vil- 
lages. The Senecas, on the other hand, said, as they went out to 
battle, " let us not fisrht them too near for fear of the stench'' — allud- 

7 D 

ing to the anticipated heaps of slain. 
[22nd August, 1845.] 



• We may here venture to inquire, whether the Kah-K\vah3 were not a remnant, or 
at least allies of the ancient Alleghans, who gave name to the river, anti thuttothe moon- 
tains. The French idea, that the Eries were exterminateil. is exploile.l by tJiit traJilioo 
of Elacksnake, at least if we concede that Erie and Kah-Kwah, were lynonymt. whkh 
is questionable. A people who were called Ercrions by the Wyandot*, and Kah-Kwahs 
by the Iroquios, may have had many other names, from other tribe*. It would eootn- 
diet all Indian history, if they had not as many names as there were diver** nalioat, to 
whom they were known. 



No. 24.i 181 



IX. MISCELLANEOUS TRAITS. 



A few traits are thrown in, under this head, in the thape of anecdote*, which ir« 
thought to be illustrative of Indian character. 



[a.] Infant Atotarho of the Onondaga. 

While I was engasjeJ in taking the census of the Onondagas, at 
their council house, at the Castle, where a large number of all ages 
and both sexes were assembled, the interpreter, who spoke English 
very well, taking advantage of a pause in the business, .said to me, 
pointing to a fine boy who sat on a bench, near a window, " that is 
our king !" I had, a short time before, requested that this boy should 
be sent for. His mother had now, unperceived by mc, brouo'ht him, 
dressed out in his best clothes, and evinced, by the expression of her 
eyes and bearing, a conscious pride in bringing him to my notice. 
And truly, she had every reason to be proud of so finely formed, 
bright and well-looking a boy. In addition to these advantages, it 
is to be remembered that descent, amongst the Onondafjas and the 
other Iroquois, is counted by the female, which constituted a further 
motive of satisfaction and pride to the mother, in showing her pretty 
Hux-saha, or boy. She made no remark, however, on my noticing 
him, but sat with modesty and ease near him, but with an eye beam- 
ing with too much pride and self-complacence to be conceale«l. 

The lad was but three years old, but tall for that age, and otTeretl 
a fine model of form. I could not help noticing, what had often 
impressed me in similar instances, that the infusion of European 
blood, derived from his grandfather by the father's side, had served 
to heighten ;ind improve physical drvrlnnnuTif. ami fulness and beaut v 



182 [Senate 

of muscle. His eyes were full, large, black and sparkling. His 
dark hair also was a true trait of his race. His countenance was of 
a bright brown, showing the blood, and rather formed on the Grecian 
mould, with a good nose and pretty lips. Yet, over all, there was a 
physiological dash of the muscular expression, hue and air of the 
true Ko.icshioni. 

There was nothing peculiar in his dress, which was of good mate- 
rials and well made, agreeably to the nation's fashion for boys, except 
it might be the lining of the under brim of a light straw hat, which 
the mother had carefully decorated with a piece of light figured 
cotton goods, looking as if it had been cut from a printed handker- 
chief. 

I did not think to ask the name of this promising young candidate 
for the seat and honors of the Atotarho, or chief magistracy of his 
nation. His father's name is Tso-ha-neeh-sa, which, according to 
the curious principles of naming persons, and the still more curious 
rules ol the Indian syntax, means a road, the receding parallel lines 
of which intermingle by atmospheric refraction. This, apparently to 
them, mysterious uniting and separating of the lines in such a vista, 
is the idea described by this compound term. The boy, however, 
inherits, or has the right of inheritance of the Atotarho, not " a king," 
through the mother, who was a daughter of the principal Ho-ai- 
ne, or chief. This daughter was married to Ezekiel Webster, an 
American, a New-Englander, aVermonter, I think, who either by freak, 
taste or fortune, wandered off among the Iroquois soon after the close 
of the American revolution, and finally fixed himself in the Onondaga 
valley, where he learned the language, established a trade in the gen- 
sing root, and became a man of note and influence in the tribe. He 
died in old age, and is buried in this valley, where he has left sons 
and daughters, all of whom, however, are recognized as members of 
the ancient Onondaga canton, or People of the Hills. 



\b.] Red Jacket and the Wyandot claim to supremacy. 

At a great council of the western tribes, assembled near Detroit, 
prior to the late war, the celebrated Seneca orator, Red Jacket, wts 



No. 24.] 183 

present, when the question of the right of the Wyandots to liirht 
the council fire, wfs brought up. Tiiis claim he stpfnuously resist j.I, 
and administed a rebuke to this nation in the foJlowiriL,' terms : 

" Have the (iuatoghies forgotten thcraselvos ? Or do they .suppose 
we have forgotten them ? Who gave you tlie right in the west or 
east, to light the general council fire ? You must have fallen asleep, 
and dreamt that the Six Nations were dead ! Who permitted you 
to escape from the lower country ? Had you any heart left to speak 
a word for yourselves ? Remember how you hung on by the bushes. 

You had not even a place to land on. You have not yet done p \r 

for fear of the Konoshioni. High claim, indeed, for a tribe who 
had to run away from the Kadarakwa.* 

"As ior you, my nephews," he continued, turning to the Lcnapces, 
or Delawares, " it is fit you should let another light your fire. Before 
Miquon came, we had put out your fire and poured water on it ; it 
would not burn. Could you hunt or plant without our leave 1 Could 
you sell a foot of land 1 Did not the voice of the Long House cry, 
go, and you went ? Had you any power at all ? Fit act indeed for 
you to give in to our wandering brothers — you, from whom we took 
the war-club and put on petticoats.f" 



[c] Anecdote of Brant. 

When this chief was in London, he received ten pounds sterling, 
to be given, on his return to America, to any person or persons, 
among his people, whom he found to be doing most to help them- 
selves. On coming to the Seneca reservation on BulTalo Creek, they 
had just finished the church, at an expense of seventeen hundred dol- 
lars. He gave the money to these Indians to buy stoves to warm it, 
which are still used for this purpose. He said he had seen no people 
who were doing so much to help themselves. | 



• Hon. Albert H. Tracy. 

f For similar language to this, aiUlresscd to the Delawares, lee Colden'i Fire S*Uo 
for a speech of an Iroquois chief, in council, at Lancaster. 
X Rev. A. Wright. 



184 {Senate 



[(!.] The County Clerk and the wolf-scalp. 

A Seneca hunter killed a \volf ju5t within the bounds of Cattarau- 
gus county, close to the Pennsylvania line, and took the scalp to 
Meadville, Pennsylvania, for the bounty. Being questioned where 
the animal was killed, he honestly told the officer that he had come 
across it and shot it, as near as he could tell, within the territory of 
I^e^r.York, very near the state and county lines. On this, the clerk 
told him that it would be contrary to law to pay him the bounty. 
" That is a bad law !" replied the red man. " Why 1" said the 
mao-istrate — " we cannot pay for scalps taken out of the county." 
" It is bad," replied the hunter, "because you require that the wolf 
should know the county lines. Had this wolf seen a flock of sheep 
just within the Pennsylvania lines, I dare say he w^ould not have 
stopped for the county lines." On this, the magistrate paid him the 
bounty of five dollars.* 

• N. T. Stronff, Esq. 



X. MORAL AND SOCIAL CONDITION AND PiiOSl'KITS. 



The gospel was preached to the Iroquois as well as to the several 
tribes of Algonquin origin, who lined the banks of the Hudson and 
the Delaware, early in the 17th century. The Reformed Church of 
Holland does not appear to have underrated its duties in this rrspect, 
while the Holland States, under a hereditary President or Stadlhohler, 
were extending their civil jurisdiction and commercial enterprise on 
this continent, notwithstanding the want of any tiircct evidence, that 
the conversion of the Indians constituted a fixed part of the policy 
of the servants and governors of the West Imlia Company, to whose 
lot it fell to introduce the arts and commerce of the mother country. 
It was the common impression of those times, not only in Holland, 
the centre of theological discussion, but in the reformed churches 
generally, that civilization and the arts must precede the introduction 
of Christianity among barbarous and idolatrous nations, and it wa« 
under such views, that the gospel was first carried lo India and to 
Iceland by the pious zeal ol the German reformers. 

The impulse which had been imparted to the subject through the 
zeal and devotion of Xavier and Loyola, and the energetic spirit of 
making proselytes and converts, which characterized the particular 
order of the Romish church, which they founded, impressed the 
rulers of Spain, France and Portugal, with a deep sense of the 
importance of carrying the gospel to the aborigines of the coun- 
tries which they discovered. Hence it was put forth, and really 
became one of the cardinal points of attention in their early at- 
tempts to found new colonics. And while the governors and ser- 
vants of these countries did not prosecute the objects of trade and 

[Senate, No. 24.] 24 



186 [Senate 

politics with less determination and success, nay, with a more unscru- 
pulous disregard of the means, as the history of South America alone 
testifies, they carried missionaries in every early enterprise, and set 
forth to the world, the conversion of the native inhabitants as the 
great object of their aim, as it was indeed often the shield and cover 
to the reckless avarice and ambition of the Cortezes and thePizarros 
who carried their flags. 

It was not consonant to the genius of Christianity, as interpreted 
by Luther and his successors, to proceed in the work of spiritual con- 
quest w^ith so noisy and gorgeous a display, or with hand locked arm 
in arm with the State ; and if the States of Holland did not put forth 
the object, in their first charters and commissions to the new world, 
it was, perhaps, because the Church was actui.ted in, and was guided 
by, the general policy of the Protestant European churches. England 
and Sweden, who planted colonies here, did the same. 

It was not, indeed, until the new impulse which arose in the middle 
of the 17th century, and which brought Oliver Cromwell to the En- 
glish throne, that different views and a deeper obligation of national 
duties in this respect began to prevail. And hence, when the English 
pilorims. W'ho had been sheltered awhile in the tolerant domains of 
Holland, set their faces towards the New World, it was with a 
pre-determination not only to carry out the principles of the gospel, 
in their own settlements, but to extend its benign influences among 
the aborigines. This was averred, and the well known prominency 
of the fact stamps the efforts to convert and civilize the North Ame- 
rican Indians, with a moral force and grandeur, which cannot be 
claimed for England, in her royal capacity as administrator of patents 
and honors here, or for any other protestant king or potentate, who 
sent her poor, bold or enterprising children to the American wilds. 

This much can be said, without disparagement to the piety of the 
Netherland church, which had her pastors and teachers at Manhattan, 
Fort Orange, and various other incipient points of her settlements at 
an early day. Whatever had been her policy, (and we have paid 
but little attention to this,) in sending teachers among the Mohegans, 
the Maquaas and other tribes who resorted to her forts and factories 
at Albany, and other points of early contact with these simple and 
warlike men ; the English, after the conquest of 1664, appear to 



No. 24.] 1S7 

have followed in her footsteps, and pursued the same general, j^radutl 
and persuasive means, attaching high and deserved value at all points 
to the influence of European arts and the value of fixed industry. 

Churches were founded at an early day, among the Mohawkti at 
Caghnawaga, and at Dionderoga at the mouth of Scliol.arii- Creek, 
better known as Fort Hunter, the latter of which receivt-d a present 
of a set of plate for the communion service, from Queen Ann. 

Unfortunately for the conversion and civilization of the Indians, 
they had not a fixed population — they drew their supplies mainly 
from the chase, gave^up a large portion of their time and means to 
war, and besides moving periodically, at least twice a year, from or 
to their hunting and planting grounds, they were in a general progress 
of recession before a civilized population. They shrank before the deter- 
mined spirit of progress of civilized arts and industry, which elicited 
resources where the Indian had seen none, and made an industrious use 
of every acre of tillable ground. But while the silent influence of this 
progressdid much to teach him, by denoting the use of tools and imple- 
ments of art and agriculture, to improve him in his domicil and its 
fixtures, and his costume, and to harmonize and fix his mental habits 
and character, he was not proof against the leading temptation of the 
times, namely, the free and inordinate use of ardent spirits. From 
the partial paroxysms of this pernicious indulgence, he rose with less 
energy to pursue the chase, or follow the war path. The policy of 
land sales, the distribution of presents as boons from the crown, and 
the distribution of small sums of coin to the heads of families in the shape 
of annuities. A system founded in all but the last feature, under 
James VI, and confirmed under the old confederation, stepped in, as 
it were, to aid and reinforce him in his means of living, but which in 
effect, held him away from his hunting grounds, paralyzed his home 
industry, and supplied him new means of indulging his propensities for 
liquor and luxuries. That the gospel should not have made a very 
marked progress under these circumstances, is not surprising. 

Some years before the breaking out of the American revolution, 
Mr. Kirkland planted the gospel standard among the Oncidas, 
at a time when the broad and sylvan fields and glades of Kun-a-\ra- 
loa, or Oneida Castle, were still bcyomi the pale of European rivili- 



188 [Senate 

zation.* And he is to be regarded as the apostle to the Iroquois. 
For many years, in perils and dangers, he preached the gospel to the 
OneidaSj at their once celebrated castle ; and by the purity, firmness 
and excellence of his character, won the confidence and the heart of 
their leading sachem. Skenandoah, gave his attention to this new 
scheme of acceptance with his Maker, admitted it, and became a con- 
sistent professor and practicer of its precepts, and of him, it can be 
confidently said, that he lived and died in the faith. To gain the in- 
fluence of the most powerful man in the canton, was to gain the 
whole canton ; and when the war broke out, the tribe, wavering, as 
it did for a time, and assailed wuth all the arts of British intrigue and 
promise, so profusely put forth, adhered to the colonies. Kirkland, 
in the inception and progress of these movements, became the prin- 
cipal agent in disseminating the doctrines of peace and neutrality 
among the six cantons. Washington and the continental congress, 
reposed the highest trust in his virtue, judgment, and intelligence. 
He took from the lips of the father of his country, words of peace 
and good counsel, which coincided admirably, with the precepts of 
the gospel. He traversed the then wilderness of Genesee and Niag- 
ara on this mission, and has left enduring monuments of his faithful- 
ness and zeal. 

But the spirit of war prevailed — that spirit which the great body 
this people had so long served, under the guidance of their native 
priesthood. All but the Oneidas, some few of the Tuscaroras, who 
were then settled in their western precincts, and some one or two in- 
dividuals, from St. Regis, joined the ranks of the mother country, 
under their bold and politic leader Brant. Seven years of battles, 
expeditions, ambushes, and murders, terminated not only in their 
political overthrow as a confederacy, but plunged many of them who 
had before listened to the voice of Christianity, back into the 
arms of their native priests and forest habits. The Mohawks, 
part of the Cayugas, and some Onondagas and TuscaroJas, fled the 
couniry, and settled chiefly in Canada. The Oneidas, the body of the 
Onondagas and Senecas, and some parts of the Cayugas and Tusca- 
roras, remained. But they had fought for a phantom. All the rich 
promises of glory and conquest, emanating from Johnson Hall and 



' Herkimer, the nearest point east, was about 40 miles distant. 



No. 24.J 189 

fort Niagara, and the Canadas had failed ; and their delegate, came 
to the treaty of Fort Stan^vix in 1784, poor, crest fallen, an.l defeated. 
And by their first public act, after the drama of the revolution, they 
put their hands to a treaty, ceding away the larger portion of their 
ancient domain. 

Thus they were thrown back an immeasurable distance in the work 
of civilization and Christianity, and the effort to introduce the gospel 
was to be commenced almost anew. 

Time will not permit any notice in detail, of this second period in 
their history. Kirkland, true to his original purpose, continued his 
ministry and useful labors, and died in the Oneida country. The 
Tenerable Skenandoah followed him at some few years later, and re- 
quested to be buried by his side. New missions were projected and 
carried into effect, at distinct times, among the remaining cantons. 
A review of these, it is impossible to make within the period allotted 
to this report ; and besides, were the time ample, the data furnished 
to me are not in all respects complete, and in some cases wholly de- 
ficient. Communications have been received from the Rev. Gilbet^ 
Rockwood and Rev. James Cusick of Tuscarora ; from the Rev. 
Asher Bliss at Cattaraugus, and from Rev. William Hall at Alleghany, 
which are printed in the appendix, and are referred to as giving the 
latest and most authentic information on the progress of Christianity, 
letters, and morals among these respective tribes. So far as relates 
to the progress of this people in agriculture and the arts, the results 
of the census, hereto prefixed, although it denotes striking depopula- 
tion, afford the most definite, and at the same time, most favorable 
view of the remains of these cantons, which has, perhaps, ever been 
presented, of a whole Indian nation in America. The reluctance, 
which was felt in some quarters, has rendered it less complete than it 
might have been made. Still, with every proper abatement and qua- 
lification, applicable to the reservations as departmental bodies, and 
to the whole as a mass, there are strong encouragements to the friends 
of Christianity to persevere. The seeds of industry are well sown ; 
letters have been generally introduced, and, in some instances, they 
have produced men of talents and intelligence, who have taken an 
honorable part in the professional and practical duties of life. Very 
gratifying evidences exist of the adoption, on a large scale, of the 



190 [Senate 

improved arts and conveniencies of polished life. In manners, cos- 
tume and address, the Iroquois people offer a high example of the 
capacities and ready adoptive habits of the race. It only needs a re- 
ference to the statistical tables mentioned, to show that they are not 
behindhand in implements of husbandry, vehicles, work cattle, horses 
and the general features of their agriculture. They are abundantly 
able to raise sufficient for their own consumption, and some of the 
communities have a surplus which is added to|the productive resources 
of the State. From those who have done so well, and who have shown 
such unequivocal capacities for improvement, we may expect more. 
From the tree, which has produced blossoms, we may expect fruit j 
and from the bearing tree which has produced good fruit,we may expect 
more fruit. Under all circumstances, we may regard the problem of 
their reclamation as fixed and certain. They have themselves solved 
it. And whatever an enlightened people and legislature should do to 
favor thern, ought not to be omitted. Churches and societies, who 
have granted their peculiar aids, should continue those aids ; and the 
heart of the philanthropist and the statesman has cause to rejoice, that 
after all their wars and wanderings, mistakes and besetments, the Iro- 
quois, made wise by experience, are destined to live. The results of 
the census, herewith submitted, demonstrate this. The time is indeed 
propitious for putting tl;ie inquiry, whether the Iroquois are not 
worthy to be received, under the new Constitution, as Citizens of 
THE State. 



No. 24.] 



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No. 24.] 201 



DEAF AND DUMB, IDIOTS, LUN.ATICS A.Mi |;i,|\|). 



I could not learn that there ever was a chilil born blind amon - '' ■ 
Iroquois. The traditions of the people do not refer to any ins' 
of the kind. They believe none has occurred. Ii is ctrtain, from 
inquiries made on the several reservations, that no such person now 
exists. Yet it is a subject which, from the importance of the fact 
in aboriginal statistics, deserves to be further investi£r;ited. 

Among the Oneidas, prior to tlic removal of the principal body of 
this tribe to Wisconsin, there was one lunatic — a young roan who 
was kindly taken care of, and who accompanied them on their re- 
moval to the west. There is also an instance of a deaf and dumb child, 
among those of the tribe who remain in the State. This person, who 
is a female, now under 12 years of age, was recently take.n to the 
Onondaga reservation by her relatives, and is now at that location. 

There is one idiot among the Onondagas, a young man under 21 
years of age. He is supported by his relatives and friends. 

* I also found one idiot among the Tuscaroras. 

My inquiries on the several reservations of the Senccas, at Tone- 
wanda, Buffalo, Cattaraugus and Alleghany, did not result in detect- 
ing a single person who was either deaf and dumb, an idiot or a 
lunatic. As the Senecas are seven-fold more numerous than the 
hio-hest in number among the other cantons, this result, if it nhould 
be verified by subsequent and fuller inquiries, after more tli 
explaining the object of the information sought for to ca , 

would offer a remarkable exemption from the usual laws of populm- 
tion. Tliere are no means of instruction for this class of persons on 
the reservations. The care of the three individuals above deiig- 

[Senate, No.24.1 26 



202 [Senate 

nated, calls for the same disproportionate tax on time, which is else- 
where necessary, and the admission of these persons to the State Lu- 
natic Asylum, and the Deaf and Dumb Institute at New- York, free of 
expense, would seem to be due to them. 

Among the St, Regis, which is the only tribe I did not visit and 
take the enumeration of, it is not known whether there be any per- 
sons of either class. 

One or two additional facts may be added to the preceding statis- 
tics in this connection. 

I found three saw mills, with twenty-one gangs of saws, on the 
Alleo-hany reservation, and also two council houses and two public 
schools, constituting public property, belonging exclusively to this 
reservation, which were valued by the appraisers, under the treaty of 
1842, at $8,219.00. 

On the Cattaraugus reservation, there is the church, council house 
and farms, connected with the schools, being the property of the In- 
dians and not the missionary society, which were valued together, by 
the same appraisers, at $3,214.50. 

There is on the Buffalo creek reservation, a saw mill, valued at 
$404.75, a church built originally at an expense of $1,700, valued 
at $1,200, and a council house, valued at $75 ; making a total amount 
of public property, including all the preceding, of $13,113.25. 

The total amount of private valuations on the Buffalo and Tone- 
wanda reservations, under the treaty of 1842, was not exactly ascer- 
tained, but it is about $80,000. This is entirely Seneca property and 
funds. Its payment to individuals, in the sums awarded, is based on 
their removal to Cattaraugus and Alleghany, agreeably to the terms 
of the compromise treaty of 1842. 

The Onondagas possess one saw mill, well built and in good repair, 
which is of some value to them, and might be rendered more so, under 
a proper system of management. 



APPENDIX 



(A. ) 

Letter from the Secretary of State to IFcmv K. 
Schoolcraft, &,c. 

Secrktarv's Okkick, } 

.Albany, June 'Joth, 1845. J 
Henry R. Schoolcraft, Esq. 

SIR — I have deemed it proper to appoint you to take the 
enumeration of the Indians residing on the following reservatioos, lo 
wit : The Oneida, Onondaga, Tuscarora, and the Reservntions of the 
Senecas, one or more in each of the counties of Allegany, Cattarau- 
gus and Erie, and also of the Tonewanda Indians in the county of 
Genesee. 

Your duties are summarily defined in the fifteenth section of the 
act of the Legislature, which authorizes me to make this appoint- 
ment, and to which I invite your attention. 

On calling at this office you will be furnished with the proper 
blanks to enable you to perform the duties of liie important trust 
committed to your hands, which will indicate with sufficient pr«<i- 
sion the method of ascertaining the numbers, ages, sex, condiiioii 
and classification of the remnants of this interesting rare. You wjII 
find, on running through and examining the blanks for these returns, 
full scope for all the information that can be of any practical use. 

I desire you will be very particular and minute in your inquiries 
in respect to every matter which relates to agricultural and »'.a'.iN".i 
cal information, as well as of all other information called for by the 
returns, which wnll be furnished to you. 

It is believed, from the information which has been rrrrivcd at 
this office, that there may be found, at the ditlercnt re!^er>•atu.n^, In 
dians who were not originally of the tribe or stock to which they 
now profess, perhaps, to belong. You will, as far as may be in \ '-y.r 
power, and without exciting the jealousy and distrust of the Iu.i..'.r.v 
endeavor to ascertain the number of their people, now living at the 



204 [Senate 

different reservations, who are not of the original stock or tribe with 
whom they are now sojourning. 

It is important that you do not consolidate or bring into one return 
any more than the inhabitants of one reservation, and a sufficient 
number of blank returns will be furnished to enable you to accom- 
plish this object without any difficulty, and you can use some one of 
the columns which will otherwise be found useless, to denote or mark 
the number who derive their subsistence from the chase. 

It is expected that you will complete the enumeration, and file 
the several returns in the Secretary's office by the first day of Sep- 
tember next, that I may be able to prepare abstracts and copies to 
be submitted to the Legislature at the next session. 

You will no doubt experience some difficulties in the performance 
of the duties devolved upon you, owing to the jealousy of the Indians 
and the novelty of these proceedings ; this, it is believed, being the 
first effort of the kind ever attempted by the State. You will assure 
our red brethren, that, in taking this enumeration of them, and mak- 
ing the inquiries into their present condition and situation, the Le- 
gislature, the Governor of the Stale, or any of the officers, have no 
other objects in view but their welfare and happiness. 

The Indians within our Slate are under its guardian care and pro- 
tection, and it is a high duty that is now to be performed of sending 
a competent and well qualified citizen to visit them, and inquire par- 
ticularly into their situation. We have no connection with the go- 
vernment of the United States, or any land company, which prompts 
to these inquiries into their present social condition. 

You will be at liberty to extend your inquiries to the early history 
and antiquarian remains of the Indians m the central and western 
parts of the State, but it is desired that these may be as brief as the 
nature of these inquiries will allow. 

With these views of the subject I commit this important trust to 
your hands, confidently expecting and anticipating a very satisfac- 
tory result. 

I have the honor to be, with great respect. 
Your ob't ser't, 

N. S. BENTON, 

Secretary of State. 

P. S. Please to advise me of your acceptance, and also state when 
you will probably call heie to receive the blanks and commence your 
duties. N. S. B. 



[a.] Fifteenth Section of an Act relative to the Census 
or Enumeration of the Inhabitants of the State, 
passed May 7, 1845. 

§ 15. It shall be the duty of the secretary of state to appoint suit- 
able persons to take the enumeration of the Indians residing on the 
several reservations in this state, who shall in respect to such reser- 



No. 24.J 



205 



vations perform all the duties requireii of marshals bv ihis act ; and 
shall also return the nuinher of arns of land ruUival'ed hv such In- 
tlians, and such other statistics as it may be in tlu-ir powrr'lo collect, 
and as the secretary of state in his instructions shall prescribe ; for 
which service they shall be paid out of the tr«'asury upon the warrmot 
of the comptroller such suitable compensation, not txctftjim,' two 
dollars per day, as the secretary shall certify to be just. All expeniMt 
incurred by the secretary of state in executint; this act shall be paid 
by the treasurer upon the warrant of the comptroller. 



[b.] Attorneys or Agents of liuiians appointed bv the 

State. 



Tribe. 



Attorney or Agknt. 



Oneiila Indians, 

Seneca Indians, 

Ononilaga Indians, . . 



Spencer H. S:atrord, Atfy... 

Ceplias R. Leland, do 

Wm. \V. Teall. A-^nr,. 



Ri-stntNcn. 



CofJITT. 



Vrrnon, | < 'nci.la 

Hanover ' ('iiiiitJij;';'' 

Nvrarin.!-, .... t ir.Ti.'.i i 



[c] Resen'ations 

Cattaraugus County: 

Reservation on the Allegany river, 

Oil Spring reservation. 
Erie County: 

Buffalo creek reservation. 

Part of Cattaraugus reservation. 
Allegany County: 

Part of Oil Spring reservation in this county. 
Genesee County: 

The Tonawanta reservation is prmcipally in this county. 

Onondaga County: 

Onondaga reservation. 
Niagara County: 

Tuscarora Indian reservalinn. 
Oneida County: 

Oneida reservation. 



206 [Senate 



(B.) 
Extracts from a Rough Diary of Notes by the way. 



Such parts only of these notes and memoramlums are retaineil, 3S hnve been referred 
to, as original materials, of which there is some particular fact or statement, which has 
not been exhausted. Sometimes the note itself was chiefly of a mnemonic chai-acter, and 
designed to recall further particulars entrusted to the memory. 



MEMORANDA, NEW- YORK, JI'LY 1. 
ANTIQUITIES OF NEW- YORK. 

Localities to be examined, namely : 

1. PoMPEY, Onondaga. 

Vestiges of a town, 500 acres. 

Three circular walls, or elliptical forts, 8 miles apart. 

These formed a triangle, enclosing the town. 

2. Camillus, Onondaga. 

Two forts. 

One 3 acres on a high hill. 
East, a gate, west, spring 10 rods off. 
Shape elliptical. 
Ditch deep. 
Wall 10 feet high. 
Second fort, half a mile distant. 
Lower ground. 
Constructed like the other. 
About half as large. 
Shells, testaceous animals — plenty. 
Fragments, pottery. 
Pieces of brick. 

" Other signs" of ancient settlement, found by first settJers- 
[Clinton.] 

3. East bank of Seneca River. 

Six miles south of Cross and Salt lakes. 

Forty miles south of Oswego. 

Discovered 1791, New-York Magazine, 1792 with picture 

writing, on a stone 5 feet by 3i, and 6 inches thick, 

evidently sepulchral. 



No. 24.] O07 

Two hundred and twenty yards lengtlj. 

Fifty-five yards breadth. 

Bank and ditch entire. 

Two apertures middle of parallelogram, on.- towards the 

water, other land. 
Second work, half a mile south. 
Half-moon. 
Outwork. 

Singularity, extremities of the crescent from larger fort. 
Bank and ditch of both, large old trees. 
Pottery well burned, red, indented. 
East, these works traced 18 miles east of Manlius stjuare. 

4. Oxford, Chenango county. 

East banks Chenango river. 

Great antiquity. 

North to Sandy creek, 14 miles from Sackett's Harbor, netr 

one w^hich covers 50 acres. 
Fragments of pottery. 
West in great numbers. 

5. Onondaga Town. 

6. SciPio. 

7. Auburn, two forts. 

8. Canandaigua, three forts. 

9. Between Seneca and Cayuga lakes — several. 

10. Ridgeway, Genesee : 

Several forts and places of burial. 

11. Allen's Residence, 1788. 

Two miles west. 

Aflat. 

Deserted Indian village. 

Junction of Allen's creek with Genesee. 

Eight miles north of Kanawageas. 

Five miles north of Magic Spring. 

Six acres. 

Six gates. 

Ditch eight feet wide. 

Six feet deep. 

Circular on three sides. 

Fourth side, a high bank. 

A covered way, near two huridred years old. 

Second, half a mile south, on a greater eminence 

Less dimensions. 



208 [Senate 

But deeper ditch. 

More lofty and commanding. 

12. JOAIKA ; 

Twenty-six miles west of Kaneawgeas. 
Six miles further. 

Te^atainedaghgwe, or double-fortified town. 
A fort at each end. 
First about four acres. 
Two miles distant another. 
Eight acres. 

Ditch about first five or six feet deep. 
Small stream one side. 
Traces of six gates. 
Dug way to the water. 
Large oaks two hundred years old or more. 
Remains of a funeral pile — bones. 

Mound six feet by twenty — thirty diameter —(sixty to 
ninety.) 

13. Path to Buffalo Creek : 

Heights — fortified. 

14. West of Tonawanda : 

Still another. 

15. On Branch of the Delaware : 

A fort one thousand years old, by trees. 

16. South side of Erie : 

Cattaraugus creek to Pennsylvania line, fifty miles. 

Two to four miles apart — some half a mile. 

Some contain five acres. 

Wall and breast- works of earth. 

Appearance of ancient beds of creeks. 

[Note the geological change.] 

Lake Erie retired from two to five miles. 

17. Further South : 

A chain of parallel forts. 
Two table grounds. 
Recession of lake. 

All these vestiges denote long periods of time, and probably differ- 
ent eras of occupation. Who preceded the Iroquois .'* Who prece- 
ded their predecessors ] Do these vestiges tell the story 1 How 
shall we study them ? By antiquities ; by language ; by comparison 
with other races of America, Asia, Africa, Europe. 

Albany, Ju/y oth. — Examine the site of ancient Mohawk residence 
in 1609, on the island and its vicinity at the mouth of Norman's 
Kill. Look for their ancient burial places. Bones, pieces of pottery, 
and other objects of art may tell something bearing on their his^tory. 



No. 24. J 209 

Is the Oasis opposite the turnpike gate, the site of their ancifDt 
burial-ground 1 Is this the spot lU-nottd by their name of Taw;>^. •> 
tha, or is it to besought iti other phices, at the moulh, or up ihc /.. .\ 

of this stream ? 

Utica. — The Mohawk valley appears to have no monumental or 
other evidences of its having been occupicil hv i;i.-. s ini, r »„ ,i,o 
Mohawks. 

Vernon. — Who were the original race that first set fool in Oneida 
county ? When did the Oneidas come ? Where did they oriyinalc, 
and how 1 They are said to be the youngest of the Six NatK ns. 

L. Hitchcock Esq. says that he was presi-nt, when a boy, > 
forty years ago, when the last executions for wilclicraft amunL; ...i; 
Oneidas took place. The suspected persons were two females. The 
executioner was Hon Yost. They were dispatclied unawres, hy the 
tomahawk. 

Sachan, a strong wind, or tempest, was the (Oneida name for Col. 
L. S. 

The principal tributary to the Oneida creek which traversi-s this 
rich grazing town, is called alter the noted chief, (to adopt the com- 
mon pronunciation,) Scanado. It means a deer. The old orthogra- 
phy, for this word is Skenandoah. 

Mr. Tracy, of Utica, whose authority on this point is good, gives 
Tegesoken, as the Indian name of Fish creek. It means, 6</ircrn /A« 
months. 

Cowassalon creek, i. e., bushes hanging over the water. 

Canastota. One pitch pine tree. 

Aontagillon. Brook of the pointed rock. 

Kunyonskota. White creek (on Dean's patent.) 

Kanao"htarageara. Place of washing the penis. This is a d.irk 
ravine. This word appears to be Mohawk. 

Sa-da-quoit. Smooth pebbles in the bed of the stream — creek at 
New-Hartford. All these are in OneidaJ^ county. 



Ot, Judge J. says, means water in the Oneida tongxie. 
Otsego, he adds, is liom Oi, water, an 1 Sago, hail, welcome, how 
d'ye do 1 This I don't believe. It is not in accordance with thr 

Indian principles of combination. 



Oneida Lan(;uage. 

The Oneidas fall a man, Lon gwee. 

" a woman, Yon gwee. 

" God, Lonee. 

" Evil Spirit, Kluntolux. 

Some of their words are very musical, as Ostia, a bone ; ahia, a 
shoe ; kiowilla, an arrow ; awiali, a heart ; loainil, a supreme ruler. 

[Senate, No. 24.] 27 



210 [Senate 

The French priests, who filled the orthography of this language 
with the letter R, committed one of the greatest blunders. There is 
no sound of R, in the language ; by this letter, they constantly rep- 
resent the sound of L. 

Oneida Castle, July. 

In a conference with Abraham Denne, an aged Oneida, he stated 
that Brandt was brought up by his (Denne's) grandfather, at Canajo- 
harie ; that he was a bastard, his mother Mohawk, and did not come 
of a line of chiefs. Says, that Scanado was a tory in the war, not- 
withstanding his high name ; that he acted against us at the seige of 
Fort Stanwix. The anecdote of an Indian firing from a tree, he 
places, while they were repairing the fort 5 says that after the man 
got up, he drew up loaded rifles with a cord ; that both Scanado and 
Brant were present. 

Says Scanado was adopted by tho nation, when quite young ; came 
from the west ; does not know of what tribe, but showed himself 
smart, and rose to the chieftaincy by his bravery and conduct. Says,, 
that the (syenite) stone on the hill, is the true Oneida stone, and not 
the white stone at the spring ; was so pronounced by Moses Schuyler, 
son of Hon Yost, who knew^ it forty years ago ; that the elevation 
gave a view of the whole valley, so that they could descry their ene- 
mies at a distance by the smoke of their fires ; no smoke, he said,, 
without fire. They could notify also, from this elevation, by a bea- 
con fire. The name of the stone is O-ne-a-ta ; auk, added, renders 
it personal, and means an Oneida. The word Oneida is an English 
corruption of the Indian. 

Origin of the Oneidas, 

Abraham Schuyler, an Oneida, says that the Oneidas originated in 
two men, who separated themselves from the Onondagas. They first 
dwelt at the outlet of Oneida lake. Next removed to the outlet of 
Oneida creek, on the lake, where they fortified. Williams says he 
was born there, and is well acquainted with the old fort. They then 
went to the head of the valley at the Oneida stone, from which they 
were named. Their fourth remove was to the present site of Oneida 
Castle, called a skull on a pole, where they lived at the time of the 
discovery of the country and settlement of the colony by the Duti'h, 
(i. e. 16U9 to '14.) 

Site of the Oneida Stonty Stockhridge. 



Etymology. 

Asked several Oneidas to pronounce the name for the Oneida 
stone. They gave it as follows : 

0-ni-o-ta-aug, 
0-ne-u-ta-aug. 
O-ne-yo-ta-aug.. 



-No. 24.1 21 1 

The terminal syllable, aug, seems lo be a local par.uie, but >■.„,„ 

ha,^tii,r:\be?Pircro"r.v.^S. '^ '■™'"- " "- ^" -- 

Adirondak, Jour.lain, pronounces Lod-a-lon-dak, pultinir I's for H. 
and a., h means a people who eat trees-an expL on romcally 
used lor those who eat bark of trees. ironicauj 

For Cherokees, he gives VVe-au-dah. 

For Delawares, Lu-na-to-sjun. 

What a mass of fog phiIo'l<..rists are fi^rhii„ir wiih, uho ni.^lakc, 
^s the eminent Vater and Adolung have, in some cases done, the dif- 
ferent 7wme.. of the same tribes of American Indians for ditTeront 
tribes. 



Antique Corn Hills. 

Counted one hundred cortical layers in a black walnut— cwtrr 
broke so as to prevent countinc: the whole number, but by measurini; 
estimated one hundred and forty more. If so, the field was deserted 
in 1605. 

The present proprietor of the farm comprising the Oneida stone, 
spring, butternut grove, &c. is Job Francis. He first hired the land 
of Hendrick's widow ; afterwards he and Gregg were confirmed by 
the State. 

The white stone at the spring, a carbonate of lime, Is not the true 
Oneida stone. 

The Oneida stone is a syenite — a boulder. 



Onondaga Castle. 

Abraham Le Fort says, that Ondiaka was the great chroniclrr of 
his tribe. He had often heard him speak of the tradilion.s of bis 
father. On his last journey to Oneida he accompanied him. As 
they passed south by Jamesville and Pompey, Ondiaka told him thai in 
ancient times, and before they fixed down at Onondu'ja, thi v li\»'«| nl 
these spots. That it was before the Five Nations had confe«l«Tatcd ; 
but while they kept up a separate existence, and fought with i*ach 
other. They kept fighting and moving their villaiies ofl«n. Thi* 
reduced their numbers, and kept them poor and in fear. When iht-y 
had experienced much sickness in a place, they thought it best lo quit 
it and seek some new spot where it was hoped they si ' ' ' ' "cr 
luck. At length they confederated, and then the t re 

no longer necessary, and fell into disuse. This is tht- »tnm»», ht- br- 
lieves, of these old works, which are not of foreign origin. 

Ondiaka told Le Fort that the Onondagas were crratnl by Ha-wa- 
ne-o, in the country where they lived. That he made this cnli'r 



-Jl'vt [Senate 

" island" Ha-who-nao, for the red race, and meant it for them alone. 
He did net allude to, or acknowledge any migrations from foreign 
lands. 

Their plan, after the confederation was to adopt prisoners and 
captives, that fragments of tribes who were paited amongst 
them and thus lost. They used the term We-hait-wa-tsha^ 
in a figurative sense, in relation to such tribes. This term 
means a body cut and quartered and scattered around. So they 
aimed to scatter their prisoners among the other nations. There is 
still blood of the Cherokees in Onondaga. A boy of this nation 
became a chief among the Cherokees. 

I called Le Fort's attention to the residence of the Moravian mission- 
ary, Zceiaberger. He said there was no tradition of such residence — 
that the oldest men remembered no such mission ; that they were ever 
strongly opposed to all missionaries after the expulsion of the Jesuits,. 
and he felt confident no such person, or any person in the character 
of a preacher^ had lived at Onondaga Castle ; that there must be 
some mistake in the matter. 



O.voNDAGA. [Jackson's.] 

Ondiaka told Le Fort that the Onondagas formerly wandered' 
about, without being long fixed at a place, frequently changing their 
villagfs from slight causes, such as sickness, &c. They were at war 
with the other Iroquois bands. They were also at war with other 
tribes. Hence forts were necessary, but after they confederated, such 
defensive works fell into disuse. They lived in the present areas of 
De Witt, Lafayette, Pompey and Manlius, along Butternut creek, &c.. 
Here the French visited them, and built a fort, after their confedera- 
tion. 

Ephraim Webster slated that the Indians were never as numerous 
as appearances led men to think. This appearance of a heavy popu- 
lation happened from their frequent removals, leaving their old vil- 
lages, which soon assumed the appearance of ancient populous set- 
tlements. 

He told Jas. Gould, that being once on a visit to Canada, he became 
acquainted with a very aged Indian, who, one day, beginning to talk 
of the Onondaga country, told him that he was born near the ok! 
church, near Jamesville, where there was a very populous village. 
One evening, he said, he stepped out of his lodge, and immediately 
sank in the earth, and found himself in a large room, surrounded by 
three hundred witches and wizzards. Next morning he went to the 
council, and told the chiefs of this extraordinary fact. They asked 
him whether he could not identify them. He said he could. They 
then accompanied him on a visit to all the lodges, when he pointed 
out this and that one, who were immediately killed. Before this in- 
quiry ended, and the delusion was stayed, he says that three hundred 
persons were killed. 



No. 24.] 213 

Notliing is more distinct or bi-tter settled in the existine tr • f 

the Iroquois, than their wars witii the Cherokees. I fi.und \: i 

to at Oneida, Ononda-^^a, &c , in tlie loi.rse of their tradm(.n«,bui 
have not been able to trace a cause for the war. Thi-y wioicl to 
have been deeply and mutually exasperated by perfidy and horrid 
treachery in the course of these wars, sucii as the bri;i\ ' e 

pledge, and murder of deputies, cSce. Their preal 4 

soon as young men grew up, In go war atjainst the CI, , 

long journey was performed without provisions, or lu: . .i. 

ration than bows, clubs, spears and arrows. Tiuy'rchtd on iht 
forest for food. Thousands of miles were not suiruicnt to dampen 
their ardor, and no lime could blot out their hatred. The Om idaa 
call them We ait dak. 

Jeremiah Gould went with nu- to view tive twin mounds. Tlicy 
exhibit numerous pits or holes, which made me at on<-e think of the 
Assenjigun, or hiding pit of the western Indians, (iouhl, in answer 
to my inquiry, said that it was a tradition which he did not know how 
much value it was worth, that the Tusearoras were brouu'ht from the 
south by the Oneidas, and first settled in this county. They warred 
against the Onondagas. The latter, to save their corn, buried it in 
these mounds or hills, then hid by the forest. In one of these exca- 
tions, dug into forty years a<20, they found a human skull and other 
bones belonging to the human frame. 

James Gould w^ent with me over the stream (Butternut) to show 
me a mound. It is apparently of geological formation, and not arti- 
ficial. Its sides were covered with larire trees, the stumps of which 
remain. There was a level space at the top, some four or five paces 
in diameter, trees and bushes around. The apex, as paced, measures 
one way 17, the other 12 paces ; is elontjateil. It seemed to have 
been the site of the prophet's lodge. Near it is the old burying 
ground, on an elongated ridge, where the graves were ranged in lines. 

Pottery. — Webster gives the Indian tradition of this ancient art 
thus. The women made the kettles. They took clay and tempered 
it with some siliceous or coarse stone. This they first burnt tho- 
roughly, so as to make it friable, (probably they plunired it while hoi 
into water,) and then pounded it, and mixed it with blood. 

Charred corn, Sfc. — In Ellisburgh is found much charred corn ?).•- 
neath the soil, and numerous remains of occupancy by the n 
Is this the evidence of Col. Van Schaack's expedition into the ( >r,. n- 
daga countrv during the revolutionary war I His battle wnh the 
Indians, tradition here says, took place near Syracuse. I', 
posed to be of this era, were discovered, in ditching the .s\^ 
Cortland House. 



214 [Senate 

Kasonda. 

Mr. I. Keeler says that he cut a large oak tree, near the site of the 
old fort, two and a half feet through. In re-cutting it, at his door, 
a bullet was found, covered by 143 cortical layers. It was still some 
distance to the centre. If this tree was cut in 1810, the bullet was 
fired in 1667. Consult " Paris Documents," 1666, treaty with the 
Onondaga Iroquois. 

The Goulds say that the fort was a square, with bastions, and had 
streets within it. It was set round with cedar pickets, which had 
been burnt down to the ground. Stumps of them were found by the 
plough. 

Nearly every article [belonging to the iron tools of a blacksmith 
shop have been ploughed up at various times — an anvil, horn, vice 
screw, &c. ; Indian axes, a horse shoe, hinges, the strap hinge. A 
pair of these hangs the wicket gate to his house. 

A radius of five to six miles around the old fort would cover all 
the striking remains of ancient occupancy in the towns of De Witt, 
Lafayette and Pompey. 

Webster told the Goulds that the French w^ho occupied this fort, 
and had the nucleus of a colony around it, excited the jealousy and 
ire of the Onondagas by the hostility of some western tribes in their 
influence. Against these the Onondaga warriors marched. The 
French then attacked the red men, &c. This led to their expulsion 
and massacre. All were killed but a priest who lived between the 
present towns of Salina and Liverpool. He refused to quit peaceably. 
They then put a chain around a ploughshare, and heating it, hung it 
about his neck ; he was thus, with the symbol of agriculture, tortured 
to death. His hut was standing when the county w^as settled. 

The attempt to settle western New-York by the French was in the 
age of chivalry, (the 16th century,) and was truly Quixotic. 

Tradition. 

Pompey and its precincts were regarded by the Indians as the 
o-round of blood, and it brought up to their minds many dark remi- 
niscences, as they passed it. Some twenty years ago, there lived an 
aged Onondaga, who said that many moons before his father's days, 
there came a party of white men from the east in search of silver. 
From the heights of the Onondaga hills, they descried the white foam 
of Onondaga lake, and this was all the semblance they ever found of sil- 
ver. One of the men died, anti was buried on Pompey hill, ami his grave 
was marked by a stom.* The others built a fort on the noted ground, 
about a mile east of Jamesville, where they cultivated the land; but at 
length the Indiana came in the night, and put them all to death. But 
there was a fearful and bloody strife, in which the Indians fell like 
leaves before the autumn wind. This spot is the field of blood. 

L. Birdseye. 

Aurora : August. See Rev. Mr. Mattoon. 

Vestiges of the Cayugas — villages — orchards — old forts. Get a 
vocabulary of their language from Canada. Get diagram of forts. 

• Query. — Is not this the inscription stone now deposited in the Albany Academy ? 



No. 24.J 215 

F,sh Carrier\s Reserve at the hrid^re. Four miles s<,uare 

Kec Jacket born on the opposite banks of.the lake ai Canotm 

Historical reminiscences of Mr. Burnham. Letter siatuK' ihc hr,, 
settlements on the Military Tract at Aurora ^ '"^^ 

Address before the G. O. I. Folly of keepinjr the nociotv ^m r.-t 

Horticultural meetinj;;. Dr. Thompson. Mr. Thomas ' 

Anniversary of Academy. .Salem Town. 

Intelligence, moral tone, hospitality of the place. 

Cars at Cayuga bridge. 

Logan was the son of a Cayuga. 

Did the Cayugas conquer the Tuteh.s of Virgini:i, an<l adonl th<> 
remnant 1 ' r 

Cayugas scattered amono- the Senccas, in Canada and west of the 
Mississippi. How many left ? What annuities. 

Geneva : Ancient site of the Senecas. Origin of the word Se- 
neca. Is it Indian or not Indian ] 

Examine old forts said to exist in this area. Are there any vt-sfigeii 
of Indian occupancy at the " Old Castle"— at Cashong— Painted Post 
— Catherinestown — Appletown ? 

Canandaigua : In visiting Fort-hill on the lake, see what vest i^jc*. 
Another site bearing this name, exists to the north of Hlossom's. 
What antiquities '? What traditions ? Ask ohl residents. Knquire 
of Senecas west. 

Rochester : Nothing left here of the footprints of the race — all 
covered deep and high with brick and stone. Whole valley of the 
Genesee worthy examination, in all its length and branches. Wanit 
the means of an antiquarian society to do this. 

Tiuly the Iroquois hare had visited upon them the fate with which 
they visited others. They destroyed and scattered, and have, in turn, 
been destroyed and scattered. But their crime was the least. They 
destroyed as heathens^ but icc as christians. In any view, the anti- 
quarian interest is the same — the moral interest, the same. 

The Iroquois had nohle hearts. They sighed tor fame. They took 
hold of the tomahawk as the only mode of distinction. They hr( ueht 
up their young men to the war dance. They carefully t. :i 

the arts of war. We have other avenues to liisiinction. I v 

direct their manly energies to other channels. The hand " :i 

bow, can be taught to guide a plough. Civilization has i I 

attractions. The hunter state had but one. The same skill ooce 
devoted to war would enable them to shine in the arts of peace. 

Why can not their bright men be made sachems of the pen, of 
the press, ot the pulpit, of the lyre \ 

Batavia, July. — There are still traces of a mound on K '« 

farm, a mile from Batavia, up the Tonewanda. Bones >•* 

beads, have been ploughed out of it. Other trace* of former ab 



216 [Senate 

nal occupancy exist in the vicinity, a stone pestle, axes, &c. having 
been found. 

The Indian name of Batavia is Ge-ne-un-dah-sais-ka, meaning 
musquito. This was the name by which they knew the late Mr. 

Ellicott. 



The Tonewanda falls 40 feet at a single place, within the Indian 
reservation. It heads on high ground about 40 miles above Batavia. 
On the theory of the former elevation of lake Erie, Buffalo itself 
would be the highest ground, between Batavia and the lake, in a direct 
line. Attica, is perhaps more elevated in that direction. 



Tonewanda Res. [Winsor & Richards.] 

NAME OF SENEGAS. 

The Senecas call themselves Nun-do-waw-gaw, or people of the 
hill. The terra Seneca is taken from the lake, on the banks of which 
they formerly lived, and had their castle. It is not a name of Indian 
origin. They are called Nun-do-waw-gaw, from the eminence 
called Fort-Hill, near Canandaguia lake. [Ho-ho-ee-yuh, or J. A. 
Sanford. | 

Cherokees. 

They call the Cherokees 0-yau-dah, which means a people who 
live in caves. Their enmity against this people, the tradition of which 
is so strong and clear, is stated to have originated from the con- 
tact of war and hunting parties, in the plains of the southwest. 
The Senecas affirm that the Cherokees robbed and plundered a 
Seneca party and took away their skins. Retaliation ensued. 
Tragic scenes of treachery and surprise followed. The Five 
Nations took up the matter in all their strength, and raised large 
and strong war parties, who marched through the country to the 
Cherokee borders, and fought and plumlered the vilages, and brought 
away scalps and prisoners. There are now, (1845) descendants of 
Cherokees in the third degree, living on the Tonewanda reservation. 
[Ho-bo-ee-yuh.J Some years ago, a chief of this blood, pure by 
father and mother, lived among them, who had been carried off cap- 
tive when a boy. The fact being revealed to him, after he had 
obtained the chieftaincy, he went south to seek his relations and live 
and die among them, but he was unable to find them. He came back 
to the Senecas, and died among them. [Le Fort. J 

Tonewanda. 

The most curious trait, of Avhich we know but little, is that respect- 
ing TOTEIMS. 

Asked the chief called Blacksmith, his name in Seneca. He re- 
plied, De-o-ne-hoh-gah-wah, that is, a door perforated, or violently 
broken through, not opened. Says he was born on the Tonewonda 



No. 24.] 217 

reservation, and wishes to die there ; will he CO vear^ r.ld if 1,.. r,r- 
till next winter, 1846. 

Says the Senecas call the Fort Stanwix or Rom. ^. ...,....>. |.<.-o- 
wain-sta, meaning (he place where canoes are carried airovs \\tv land 
from stream to stream ; that is, a rarryinc: place. 

Says, Tc-to-yoah, or VVm. Jones of'('aitaraui,nis, ciin relate vn!u»- 
ble Seneca traditions. 

He says there are eic:ht Seneca clans ; thcv are thr Wf.lf, liv^r 
Turtle, Deer, Plover, Beaver, Hawk and ('ran.-. "lie is of the Wolf clan' 
This was also Red Jucket's clan. 

These clans may be supposed to have arisen from persons who had 
greatly distinguished themselves at an early period as tounders or bene- 
factors, or they may have held some su( h relation to the' original 
nation, as the Curatii antl Horatii, in Roman hisiory. It ts noi only 
the Iroquois, who ascribed this lionor to the clans of the Bear, tl4 
Turtle and the Wolf. They are equally honored among most of the 
Algonquin tribes. 

OSTEOLOGICAL RcMAINS. 

In the town of Cambria, six miles west of Lockport, (lS24,)a Mr. 
Hammon, who was employed with his boy in hoemg corn, observeil 
some bones of a child, exhumed. No farther thoucrht was bestowe<l 
upon the subject for some time, for the plain on tin- r'uhjv was $nn- 
posed to have been the site of an Indian village, and this wassuppo5ed 
the remains of some child, who had been buried there. Kli Bruce 
hearingofthecircumstancc, proposed to Mr. H. that they should repair 
to the spot, with suitable instrumerits, and endeavor to find some 
relics. The soil was a light loam, which would be dry and preserve 
bones for centuries without decay. A search enabled them to come 
to a pit, but a slight distance from the surface. The top of the pit 
W'as covered with small slabs of the Mtcfina sandstone, and waj 
twenty-four feet square, by lour and a half in deptli — the planes 
agreeing with the four cardinal points. It was filled with human 
bones of both sexes and all ages. They du'X down at one exlremitT 
and found the same layers to extend to the bottom, which was the 
same dry loam, and from their calculations, they deduced that at 
least four thousand souls had perished in one great massacre. In one 
skull, two dint arrow heads were found, and many hail the appear- 
ance of having been fractured and clelt open, by a sudden biovr. 
They were piled in regular layers, but with no regard to size or urx. 
Pieces of pottery were picked up in the pit, and had also been 
ploughed up in the field adjacent. Traces of a log council hou»e 
were plainly discernable. For, in an oblong square, the soil wai 
poor, as if it had never been cultivated, tdl the whites broke it up ; 
and where the logs of the house had decayed, was a strip of neb 
mould. A maple tree, over the pit, being cut down, two bundrrd 
and fifty concentric circles were counted, makini; the mound to be 
anterior to as many years. It has been supposed by the Tillngemthat 
the bones were deposited there before the discovery of America, but 

[Senate, No. 24. J 2S 



218 [Senate 

the finding of sonie metal tools with a French stamp, places the date 
within our period. One hundred and fifty persons a day visited, this 
spot the first season, and carried off the bones. They are now nearly 
all gone, and the pit ploughed over. Will any antiquarian inform us, 
if possible, why these bones were placed here ! To what tribe do 
they belong 1 When did such a massacre occur 1 

None of the bones of the men were below middle size, but some 
of them were very large. The teeth were in a perfectly sound state. 

Present Means of living on the Reservation. 

1. Rent of land from twelve shillings to ihree dollars per acre. 

2. Sale of timber, fire wood, hemlock bark, staves, saw-logs. 

3. Fishing and hunting. Very little now. 

4. Raise corn, cattle, horses, hogs, some wheat, &c. &.c.j cut hay. 
Young men hire themselves out in harvest time. 

Bones. 

At Barnegat is an ancient ridge, or narrow raised path, leading 
from the river some miles, through low grounds ; it is an ancient bu- 
rial ground, on an island, in a swamp. 

Bones of the human frame, bone needles, and other ancient re- 
mains, are ploughed up at an ancient station, fort or line, in Shelby. 

A human head, petrified, was ploughed up by Carrington, sen., 
in a field in Alabama, Genesee county, and is now in the possession 
of Mr. Grant, at Barnegat. 

Petrified tortoises are said to be ploughed up in many places. 

Opinion or a Chief of the Word Seneca. 

De-o-ne-ho-ga-wa is the most influential chief of the Tonewandas. 
He is of the Wolf tribe — born on the forks of the Tonewanda, and is 
59 years old. Being interrogated as to the Seneca history, he says, 
that the tradition of the tribe is clear — that they lived on the banks 
of the, Seneca and Canandaigua lakes. They were called Nun-do- 
wau-onuh, or People of the Hill, from an eminence now called Fort 
Hill, at the head of Canandaigua lake. They are now called, or, 
rather, call themselves, Nun-do-wau-gau. The inflection onuii, in 
former times, denoted residence, at a hill ; the particle agau, in the 
latter, is a more enlarged term for locality, corresponding to their 
present dispersed condition. 

The word Seneca, he aflarms, is not of Indian origin. While they 
lived in Ontario, there was a white man called Seneca, who lived on 
the banks of the lake of that name. W^ho he was, where he came 
from, and to what nation he belonged, he does not know. But 
wherever he originated, he was noted for his bravery, wisdom and 
strength. He became so proverbial for these noble qualities, that it 
was usual to say of such, and such a one, among themselves, he is 
as brave as Seneca, as wise as Seneca, as noble as Seneca. Whether 
the lake was called after him, or he took his name from the lake, is 
not known. But the name itself is of European origin. The tribe 
were eventually called Senecas from their local residence. The idea, 



No. 24.] 219 

he says, was pleasing to them, lor they thought themselves the moH 
brave and indomitable of men. Of all the races ot the Onpwe HoT 
we, they esteemed themselves the most superior in couraL, endur- 
ance and enterpnze. ^ ' 
He refers to Te-to-yoah of Cattaraugus for further inform.iion 
Un reference to Te-to-yoah, some time afierwnr.ls, he had no tr«- 
dition on this particular subjecr. The probability ,s, that Black- 
smith meant only to say, that the name was not Si-nec'a. So far ii 
true. What he says of a great man living on Seneca lake, Ac in 
older times, is probably a reproduction, in his mind, of an account of 
Seneca, the moralist, which has been told him, or some Indian from 
whom he had it, in days by-gone. 

As the name of Seneca is one of the earliest we hear, after 1609, 
it was probably a Mohawk term for that people. It is speit with • 
k in old French authors. 

Lewiston. [Frontier House.] 
The Tuscarora clans are the following : 
The Turtle. 
The Wolf. 
The Bear. 
The Beaver. 
The Snipe, or Plover. 
The Eel. This is not an Iroquois totem. 
The Land Tortoise. 

They have lost the Falcon, Deer and Crane, perhaps in their disas- 
trous wars of 1713. By this it appears they have lost one clan 
entirely — probably in their defeat on the Taw river, in N. Carolina. 
Two others of the clans are changed, namely, the Falcon and Dr«r, 
for which they have substituted the Land Tortoise and Eel. 

Descent is by the chief's mother and her clan, her daughter or 
nearest kin, to be settled in council. The adoption of chiei's was 
allowed, where there was failure of descent. 

Curious barrow, or mound, on Dr. ScovilTs place — to be examined. 
Two others, near the old mill and orrhard. 
Old fort of KiENiKA, to be visited. 
Get vocabulary of Tuscarora, to compare. 

This tribe has gone through a severe ordeal, their Ihstory is full of 
incident. The following list shews their number in North Carolina, 
and all other Indians of that cohmy in ITOS. 

Tuscaroras, living in 15 towns 1,200 men. 

W^accons, in 2 towns, 120 

Maramiskeets, 30 

Bear Rivers, ^0 

Hatteras, 1 *^ 

Neus, in 2 towns, I-' 

Pamlico, ^^' 

Meherrin, ^ '^Z 

Chowan, ^ ' 

Carried forward, 1 .5 11 



$^0 [Senate. 

Brougbt forward, »>.. 1 ,5 11 

Paspatank, 1^ 

Poteskeeis of Carrituk, 30 

Nottoways, 30 

Connamox, in 2 towns, 25 

Jaupim, ♦•• 2 

1,608 



Visited James Cusick, the brother of Datid, the Indian archsolo- 
e;ist, preacher to the Tusks, pictures in the house, old deeds frora 
Carolina. 

Sunday. Attended Mr. Rock-t^'ood's meeting, admirable bcbavior 
cf all, dress well, good singing. W. Chew interprets. 

Females, however, adhere to their ancient costume. 

Women more pertinacious in their social habits and customs than 
men. 

Tuscaroras raise much wheat, cattle, horses, quite :n advance of 
the other tribes in agiiculture. 

They own the fee simple of about 5,000 acres, besides their reser- 
vation, which they purchased from the Holland Company. 

Niagara F/.lls. 

This name is Moliawk. It means, according to Mrs. Kerr, the 
Neck, the term being first applietl to the portage, or ntck of land, 
between lakes Erie f.nd Ontario. 

BuFTALO. 

Whence this name ? The Indian term is Tt-ho-so-ro-ro in Mo- 
hrwk, and De-o-se-o-\va in Seneca. Ellicott writes it Tu-she-way. 
Others, in other forms. In all, it is admitled to mean the place of the 
linden, or bass-wood tree. 

There is an old story of buffaloes being killed here. Some say a 
horse was killed by hungry Freyichmen., and palmed off for butlalo 
meat at the camp. How came a horse here ? 

A curious bone needle was dug up this year, in some excavations 
made in Fort Niagara, which is, clearly, of the age prior to the dis- 
covery. 

Bones and relics must stand for the chronology of American anti- 
quity. 

America is the tomb of the red man. All the interest of its anti- 
Columbian history, arises from this fact. 

Eries. 

By Father Le Moyne's letter of 1653, [vide Kelacions,] the wnr 
with the nation of the Cat or Eries was then newly broke out. He 
thanks the Onondagas, Senecas, Cayugasand Oneidas, for their union 
in this war. 



221 ( Senate 

On the 9th August, 1G53, we heard a dismal shout, amonif the 
Iroquois, caused by the news, that three of their men haJ hctn ktlltd 
by the Eries. 

He condoles with the Seneca nation, on the capture of their pmt 
chief, Au-REN-cRA-os, by tliL- Krits. 

He exhorts them to strengthen their " defences'' or forts, to paint 
their warriors for battle, to be united in council. 

He required them never to lay in ambush for the Alennquin or 
Huron nations, who might be on their way to visit the Kn-Mih. 

We learn, from this, that the Eries or ('at nation, wi-n- • 
Wyandot or Huron, nor of the Algoncjuin nations. It v :;, 

that these Eries were not friends of thi' French, and that by rxnung 
them to this new war, they were shirlding their fri«-nds, the Aleoni 
and Hurons, from the Iroquois club and scalpincj knite. That 
they were the same people calleil tlie " Neuter Nation," who occupinl 
the banks of the Niagara, there is but little reason to belirve. The 
Senecas called them Gawgwa or Kah-Kwah. 

Cusick states that the SenecrS foutjht a<rainst a people, west of the 
Genesee river, called Squakihaw, i. e. Kah-Kwah, whom they beat, 
and alter a long seige took their principal fort, and put their ehii-f to 
death. Those who recovered w'ere made vassals ami adopted into 
the tribe. 

He states that the banks of the Nia-^ara rivi-r were povsrsscd by 
the Twa-kenkahor, or Missasages, who, in time, gave it up to ihc 
Iroquois peaceably. Were not these latter tlu' Neuter Nation ? 

To discuss the question of the war with the Eties, it is n^'^^•s^a^y 
to advert to the geographical position of the parlies. The Sinecas, 
in 1653, as appears by French authorities, lived in the area betueen 
the Seneca lake and the Gi nesee river. The original stoek of ihc 
Five Nations appears to have entered the area of western New- York 
in its central portions ; and, at all events, they extended west of the 
Genesee, after the Erie war, and possessed the land concjucred from 
the latter. 

Mission Station, Buffalo Reservation. 

Seventy-four Seneca chiefs attended the general counri^ <-. 

Putting their gross population at 2,500, this gives on*.- ri. • rjf 

thirty-three souls. This makes them '* captains ol tens.*' 

The Seneca language has been somewhat cultivated. .Mr. Wright, 
the missionary, who has mastered the language, has printed n spell- 
ini:: book of 112 pages, also a periodical trait for rea«ling, called the 
"Mental Elevator." Both valuable phihdogical di'ta. 

The Senecas of this reservation are on the niovi ' ui 

and Alleghany, having sold out, finally, to the <' v. 

They leave their old homes and cemetery, however, with " iongiog, 
lingering looks." 

Here lie the bones of Red Jacket and Mary Jemison. 

Curious and interesting reminiscences th(» Senecas have. J t <• >»i 
their traditions of all sorts. Can't separate fiction from fact. They 



222 [Senate 

must go together ; for often, if the fiction or allegory be pulled up, 
the fact has no roots to sustain itself. 

Kah-Kwahs, Eries, Alleghans, — who were they 1 

Mr. Wright showed me an ancient triturating stone of the Indians, 
in the circular depressions of which they reduced the siliceous mate- 
rial of their ancient pottery. 

The Seneca language has a masculine, feminine and neater gender. 
It has also an animate and inanimate gender, making five genders. 

It has a general and dual plural. 

It abounds in compound descriptive and derivative terms, like the 
Algonquin. 

They count by the decimal mode. There are names for the digits 
to ten. Twenty is a compound of two and ten, and thirty of three and 
ten, &c. 

The comparison of adjectives is effected by prefixes, not by inflec- 
tions, or by changes of the words, as in English. 

Nouns have adjective inflections as in the Algonquin. Thus o-a- 
dek is a road, o-a-i-yu a good road. The inflection, in this last word, 
is from wi-yu, good. 

Irving, Cattaraugus Creek. 

It is a maxim with the Iroquois, that a chief's skin should be thicker 
than that of the thorn locust, that it may not be penetrated by the 
thorns. 

Indian speakers never impugn each other's motives when speaking 
in public council. In this, they off'er an example. 

Mr. Strong says. Silversmith of Onondaga, has the tradition of the 
war with the Eries. 

Indians in Canada. 

It is observed by a report of the Canadian Parliament, that the 
number of Indians now in Canada is 12,000. Of these, 3,301 are 
resiiiing in Lower Canada, and the remainder 8,862, in Canada West. 
The number of Indians is stated to be on the increase, partly from the 
access of births over the deaths, and partly from a numerous immigra- 
tion of tribes from the United States. This report must be taken 
with allowances. It is, at best, but an estimate, and in this respect, 
the Canadians, like ourselves, are apt to over estimate. 

The Indian is a man who has certainly some fine points of charac- 
ter ; one would think a man of genius could turn him to account. 
Why then are Indian tales and poems failures ? They fail in exciting 
deep sympathy. We do not feel that he has a heart. 

The Indian must be humanized before he can be loved. This is 
the defect in the attempts of poets and novelists. They do not show 
the reader that the red man has a feeling, sympathising heart, and feel- 
ing and sympathies like his own, and consequently he is not interested 
in the tale. It is a tale of a statue, cold, exact, stiff, but without life. 



No. 24.J 223 

It is not a man with man's ordinary loves and hopfs ,»nd bate* 
Hence the failure of our Ya7noydens, and Ontwr.s, and Ktccilas miu\ a 
dozen of poems, %vhicl., although having merits, slumber in .y'pe »nd 
sheepskin, on the bookseller's shelf. *^ 

HORTS' CORNKUS, CaTT. 

One seems here, as if he had suddenly been pitched into iome o( 
the deep gorges of the Alps, surrounded' with cliffs and rocks and 
woods, in all imaginable Nvildness. 

Cold spring, Allegany Rivta. [Sep. 3. J 

Reached the Indian village on the reservation at this place, at 9 
clock in the morning. 

Indians call the place Te o-ni-gon-o, or De-o-ni-gon-o, which means 
Cold Spring. 

Locality of the farmer employed by Quakers, at the mouth of a 
creek, called Tunasassa ; means a clear stream with a pibbly bid. 

Allegany river they call Oheo, making no difference between it, 
and the stream after the inlet of the Monongahela. 

Gov. Blacksnake absent ; other chiefs, with his son Jacob meet ia 
council ; business adjusted with readiness. 

Allegany river low ; very different in its volume of water and 
appearance from what it was 27 years before, when I descended it, 
on my way to the West. 

Lumbering region ; banks lined with shingles, boards, saw logs. 
Indians act as guides and lumbermen. 

Not a favorable location for the improvement of the Senecas. 
Steal their timber ; cheat tiiem in bargains ; sell whiskcv lo thtm. 

Had the imaginative Greeks lived in AlUgany county, tht-y wculd 
have pictured the Genesee and Allegany rivers, as two git Is, who 
having shaken hands, parted, the one to skip and leap and run east- 
ward to find the St. Lawrence, and the other to laugh through the 
Ohio valley, until she gradually melted into the ocean in the gulf of 
Mexico. 

Napoli Centre. 

The counties of Cattaraugus, Chautauque and Allegany, and part of 
Wyoming and Steuben, constitute a kind of Switzerland. The surface 
of the country resembles a piece of rumpled calico, full of knobs and 
ridges and vallies, in all possible shapes and directions. It is on the aver- 
age elevated. Innkeepers and farmers encountered on two trips orrr it, 
say that there is considerably more moisture in the shape of rain and 
dews and fogs, than in the Genesee country. It is less valuable for 
wheat, but good for corn, grass, and raising stock. Nothing can be more 
picturesque. The hills are often cultivated to their very t<.p<. It is 
healthy. Such a region is a treasure in a State so level and placid as 
much of western New- York ; and liad it the means of ready iccm 
to markets, and to the Atlantic, it would, in a few years, be spot- 



224 [Senate 

ted -with o-entlemens seats from the seaboard. There are some remark- 
able examples of the east and west, and north and south fissures of 
rocks (a trait also noted at Anburn,) in these counties. At one place, the 
fissures are so wide, and the blocks of rock between so large, that 
the spot is sometimes called city or rocks. The rock here is con- 
jrlomerate, i. e. the bed of the coal formation ; a fact which denotes 
the elevation of the country. It is to be hoped, when this country is 
further subdivided into counties and towns, that some of the charac- 
teristic and descriptive names of the aborigines will be retained. 

LoDI. 

This bright, busy, thriving place, is a curiosity from the fact, that 
the Cattaraugus creek, (a river it should be called) splits in exactly, 
or nearly so, in two parts, the one being in Erie, the other in Catta- 
raugus. Efforts to get a new county, and a county seat, have here- 
tofore been made. These conflict with similar efforts, to have a coun- 
ty seat located at Irving, at the mouth of the creek. 

Irving, Mouth of Cattaraugus. 

This is a fine natural harbor and port of refuge. Its neglect appears 
strange, bui it is to be attributed to the influence of capitalists at 
Silver-Creek, Dunkirk, Barcelona, &c. 

Eighteen-Mile Creek. 

Here are vestiges of the Indians old forts, town sites, &c. Time 
and scrutiny are alone necessary to bring out its antiquities. 

Buffalo. 

The Chiefs Capt. Cole. — The noted Onondaga Chief, Capt. Cole, 
died at his resi(!ence, among his people, a few days since, aged about 
seventy-five years. This Indian was well known here, having, for 
many years, made his home upon the reservation adjoining the city. 
He took tile field, in defence of the country, during the last war, 
under the late Gen. Porter, who was often heard to speak of his 
bravery and usefulness, in the various battles along the Niagara 
frontier. 

Cole was of the " old school" of his race — a primitive, unadul- 
terated Indian, equally uncontaminated in mind as in habits, by inter- 
course with the whites. Probity and justice were the leading fea- 
tures of his character ; and to direct these he had an intellect which 
won for him a high control and extended influence among his tribe. 

Some years since Cole v.^as selected by our townsman, young 
WiLGUS, as the finest specimen he had ever met, of the race to which 
he belonged ; and he immediately took means to secure him as a 
sitter. The result was the half length portrait of the Chief which 
WiLGLS executed, and which has been so often seen and admired 
alike by our citizens and by strangers. 

An incident connected with the history of this piece, seems appro- 
priate here, as illustrative of its excellence. When Wilgus lett for 



No. 24. J 0^5 

Porto Rico, where he now is, he look the portrait of Cole with him. 
It \yas seen, upon that island, hy a gentleman fiora Aiustt-r.lara, who 
declared it the first piece he had seen which gave him ihc sUKhtnH 
ideas of the peculiar characteristics of the Indian ran- ; and hr br- 
carae so interested in the picture that he asked an.l ol.iaim-d prrroi*- 
sion to take it with liim, to Kurope, for the inspt-cHon of hm frirmli. 
The piece was, by him, carried to Amsterdam, where the admirattoo 
of it was universal, and where il would have been relamrd, at ■Imott 
any price, had it been for sale. Hut it was not : the RentU-roan had 
promised to return the painting safe to BulTalo ; and he has don* w, 
it having arrived here this spring; and it now stands, uno»trnla- 
tiously enough, in the bookstore of the artist's father, upon Main- 
street. 

IJAr.w lA. 
The Tonewandas at length consent to have their census taken. 

Al Ul KN. 

'7 Go with Mr. Goodwin to visit Oswaco lake — Gov. Tliroop's 

place — OM Dutch (Hiurch overlooking the lake, &.c. 

Fort-Hill. — Extensive vestiges of an elliptical work — Curious rec- 
tangular iisurcs of the limestone rock on the Owasco oullet — notlh 
an(l south. 

The Indian name of the place, as told by an Onondai^a chief — 
Osco ; first called Hardenburgh's Corners, finally ti <r Gold- 

smith's " Deserted Village" — so that the poet m.i'. . to hate 

had a hand in supplying namis I'or a land to whuh he unce pur- 
posed to migrate. 

It would have pleased " poor Goldsmith " could he have known 
that he was the parent of the name for so fine a town — a town thnt- 
ing somewhat on the principle laid down in the concluding lines of 
the poem — 

" While self-depcmlrnt power can lime ilefjr, 
As rocks resist the billows ami the «ky." 

Syracuse. 
Pity a better name could not have been found for so fine, ccntrti, 
capital a site. The associations are now all wrong. What had Dio- 
nysius or Archimedes to do here I It was Atotarho G I>e- 

kanifora, Ontiyaka, and their kindred, who made the | '«. 

Onondaga would have been afar better appellation. 'lh» In-iian* 
called the lake and its basin of country together Gan-nn-dt-a. Salt 
Point, or the Saline, sounded to rae as if, abating syllibanls, it mighl 
be written Ka-ji-ka-do. 

Utica. 
There was a ford in the Mohawk here. It was the site nf Fort 
Schuyler— a fort named after Major Schuyler, a roan of note : 
tary prowess in the olden time, long before the daysof Generu. I -• ,- 

[Senate, No. 24. [ 29 



226 [Senatk 

Schuyler. Some philological goose, writing from the Canadas, makes 
Utica an Indian name ! 

Mouth or the Norman's Kill, ok Tawasentha, Albany. 

Mr. Brayton says, that in digging the turnpike road, in ascending 
Kiddenhook hill, on the road to Bethlehem, many human bones, sup- 
posed to be Indian, were found. They were so numerous that they 
were put in a box and buried. This ancient burial ground, which 
I visited, was at a spot where the soil is light and sandy. On the 
hill, above his house, is a level field, where arrow-heads have been 
found in large numbers. 

Mr. B., who has lived here sixteen years, does not know that the 
isolated high ground, east of the turnpike gate, contains ancient 
bones — has not examined it with that view. Says Mr. Russell, in 
the neighborhood, has lived there fifty years, and will ask him. 

Nothin"- could be more likely, than that this oasis on the low land 
should have served as the cemetery for the Mohawks, who inhabited 
the island, where the Dutch first landed and built a fort in 1614, 

The occupancy of this island by the Indians could never have been 
any thing but a summer residence^ for it is subject to be inundated 
every year by the breaking up of the river. This was probably the 
cause why the Dutch almosl immediately abandoned it, and went a 
little higher, to the main land, where Albany now stands. The city^ 
however, such are the present signs of its wealth and progress, has 
extended down quite half way to the parallel of the original site of 
" Het Casteel" under Christians, and should these signs continue, 
within twenty years South Pearl-street will present lines of compaci 
dwellinfs and stores to the bridge over the Tawasentha, and Kidden- 
hook be adorned with country seats. 

New- York. 
Whatever else can be done for the red race, it is yet my opinion? 
that nothing would be as permanently beneficial, in their exaltation 
and preservation, as their admission to the rights and immunities of 
citizens. 

Indian Election. 

At a council of the Six Nations of Indians, held upon th:^ Tona- 
wanda Reservation, on Wednesday, Oct. 1st, there were present the 
Mohawks, Onondagas and Senecas, confederate brothers on the one 
part, and the Oneidas, Cayugas and Tuscaroras, brothers on the other 
part. 

The Masters of the grand ceremonies were Deatgahdos, Hahsant 
(Onondagas) and Oahgwashah, (Cayuga.) The speakers were 
Hahsauthat, (Onondaga,) Shosheowaah, (Seneca,) and Oaghwashah, 
(Cayuga.) 

After the grand ceremonies were performed, the folllowing were 
appointed Grand Sachems, Sachems and Chiefs. 



No. 24. J 227 

Desha-£To-gaah-neh was appointed Grand Sachem, in place of 0»- 

noh-gaith-(la-\vili, (Urcased. 

Ga-noh-la-dah-laoh was appointed Grand Sachem, in pUceof Oah- 

no-gaih, deceased. 

Deyawa-dah-oh was appoinlt-d Grand Sachem in place of Ganyo- 

daiyuh, deposed. 

The above arc Seneca Indians. 

Of tlie Ononil.igns — ()-jili-ja-»lo-|xah was a|)j),.ii 

in place of Ilononiwcdoh,) Col. Silversmilli, an <' j,.. ..-.„c„; 

among the Senecas) deposed. 

So-dyc-a-dolik was ;'ppointed Chief of the Onondagas, in pUc« of 
Sha-go-ga-eh, (Button George,) deposed. 

Deyiishahk(hi was appointed Sachem of the Tn 
Ga-yah-jili-go-wa was appointed a Chief as runnn 
hahkdc— J5u/r. Pilot. W 

Sketches of an Indian Council. 

A grand council of the confedcratp Irocpinis was h«-ld h-\si week, at 
the Indian Council House on tlie Tonawanda Htscrvation, in the 
county of Genesee. Its f rocecdings occupied three days — ciosiof; 
on the 3d instant. It embraced representatives from all tl • " ^ 
tions — the i\Iohawk, the Onondnga, the Seneca ; .ind the O 
Cayuga and the Tuscarora. It is the only one of the km.i ui... ii 
has been held for a number of years, and is, probably, the la*t which 
will ever be assembled with a full repri^sentation of all the coofede- 
rate nations. 

With the expectation that the council wouUI commcoce on Tues- 
day, two or three of us had left Rochester so as to arrive at t! ' 
cil House Monday evening ; but owing to some unsettled \ 
ries, it had been postjioned till Wednesday. The I 
abroad, however, had arrived at the Council Grounds, < 
meiliate vicinity, on Monday ; and one of the most in'.' 
tacles of the occasion, was the entry of the difTerenl nat 
domain and hospitality of the Senecas, on whose grou; 
was to be held. The representation of Mohawk^. 
did, from Canada, was necessarily small. The ()r< 
acting To(l-o-dah-hoh of the confederacy, and hi.s Ia 
made an exceedingly creditable aj)pearance. Nor w;i- 
Tuscaroras, in point of numbers at least, deficient in atiracUvr and 
imposing features. 

Monday evening we called upon and were presented to Blacksmilb, 
the most influential and authoritative of the S. ■ ' H ' 

about 60 years old — is somewhat portly, is ••. 
ners, and is well disposed and even kind;\ 
him that they have no sinister designs in > 

Jemmy Johnson is the Great High Priest oi the roi. 
Though now 69 years old, he is yet an erect, fme looking, ..... 
getic Indian, and is both hospitable and intelligent. He U in 



228 [Senate 

slon of the medal presented by Washington to Red Jacket in 1792, 
which, among other things of interest, he showed us. 

It w^oukl be incompatible with the present purpose to describe ail 
the interesting men who there assembled, among whom were Capt. 
Frost, Messrs. Le Fort, Hill, John Jacket, Dr. Wilson and others. 
We spent most of Tuesday, and indeed much of the time during the 
other days of the week in conversation with the chiefs and most intel- 
ligent Indians of the different nations, and gleaned from them much 
information of the highest interest in relation to the organization, 
government and laws, religion, customs of the people, and character- 
istics of the great men, of the old and once powerful confederacy. 
It is a singular fact, that the peculiar government and national cha- 
racteristics of the Iroquois is a most interesting field for research and 
inquiry, which has never been very thoroughly, if at all, investiga- 
ted, although the historic events which marked the proud career of 
the confederacy, have been perseveringly sought and treasured up in 
the writings of Stone, Schoolcraft, Hosmer, Yates and others. 

Many of the Indians speak English readily ; but with the aid and 
interpretations of Mr. Ely S. Parker, a young Seneca of no ordinary 
degree of attainment, in both scholarship and general intelligence, 
and who, with Le Fort, the Onondaga, is well versed in old Iroquois 
matters, we had no difficulty in conversing with any and all we 
chose to. 

About mid-day on Wednesday, the council commenced. The 
ceremonies with which it was opened and conducted were certainly 
unique — almost indescribable ; and as its proceedings were in the 
Seneca tongue, they were in a great measure unintelligible, and in fact 
profoundly mysterious to the pale faces. One of the chief objects 
for which the council had been convoked, as has been heretofore edi- 
torially stated iji the American, was to fill two vacancies in the sa- 
chemships of the Senecas, which had been made by the death of the 
former incumbents ; and preceding the installation of the candidates 
for the succession, there was a general and dolorous lament for the 
deceased sachems, the utterance of which, together with the repeti- 
tion of the laws of the confederacy — the installation of the new 
sachems — the hnpeachment and deposition of three unfaithful sa- 
chems — the elevation of others in their stead, and the performance of 
the various ceremonies attendant upon these proceedings, consumed 
the principal part of the afternoon. 

At the setting of the sun, a bountiful repast, consisting of an innu- 
merable number of rather formidable looking chunks of boiled fresh 
beef, and an abundance of bread and succotash, was brought into the 
council house. The manner of saying grace on this occasion was 
indeed peculiar. A kettle being brought, hot and smoking from the 
fire, and placed in the centre of the council house, there proceeded 
from a single person, in a high shrill key, a prolonged and monoto- 
nous sound, resembling that of the syllable ivah or yah. This was 
immediately followed by a response from the whole multitude, utter- 
ing in a low and profoundly guttural but protracted tone, the syllable 
whe or swc^ and this concluded grace. It was impossible not to be 



No. 24.J 229 



somewhat mirthfully affected at the f.rst hearini^ of prace wid in thi. 
novel manner. It is, however, pleasurable to rc-flrct that the Indian 



an 

in iu)ine 



on 



recognizes the duty of renderinir thanks to the Div.ne Kcintr 
tormal way, for the bounties and enjoyments which IK- ' i 

were an Indian to attend a public feast amoni,' his pale ! 
he would be affected, perhaps to a greater de^rree of marwi .t wit- 
nessing a total neglect of this ceremony, than we were at hi^'»,ni:ul*r 
way oi performing it. 

After supper, commenced tlie dances. All day Tmsdav and 
Wednesday, up to the time that the places of the deit-a^ocVwrhc 
had been filled, every thing like undue joyfulnrss had b. 
This was required by the respect customarily due to tl.. ; 

dead. But now, the bereaved sachemships being airain 
to give utterance to gladness and joy. A short spe. . 
Frost, introductory to the enjoyments of the evening, was r.-rnvcd 
with acclamatory approbation ; and soon eighty or ninety of ihr*c 
sons and daughters of the forest— the old men and the yountj, the 
maidens and matrons — were engaged in the dance. It was indeed a 
rare sight. 

Only two varieties of dancing were introduced the first rvcninjj 

the trotting dance and the fish dance. The figures of either are ex- 
ceedingly simple, and but slisjlitly ditferent from each other. In the 
first named, the dancers all move roui.d a circle, in a single file, and 
keeping time in a sort of trotting step to an Indian song of yoho-ha, 
or yo-ho-ha-ha-ho, as sung by the leaders, or occa.sional' '. " 
joined. In the other, there is the same movement in si: i 

a circle, but every two persons, a man and a woman, <.r iwu imn, 
face each other, the one moving forward, the other backward, and all 
keeping step to the music of the singers, who are now, howerer, 
aided by a couple of tortoise or turtle shell rattles, or an aboriginal 
drum. At regular intervals, there is a sort of cadence in the music, 
during which a change of position by all the couples takes ;>' . . 
one who had been moving backward taking the place of the 
ing forward, when all again move onward, one-half of the whulr, of 
course, being obliged to fo.low on by advancing backwards ! 

One peculiarity in Indian dancing would probably strongly com- 
mend itself to that class among pale faced beaux and belles denomi- 
nated the bashful ; though perhaps it would not suit others as well. 
The men, or a number of them, usually begin the dance alone ; and 
the women, or each of them, selecting the one witii whori". «^i«- \*..iild 
like to dance, presents herself at his side as he appr. ! la 

immediately received into the circle. Consequently, t; • ^ In- 

dian beau knows nothing of the tact required to hand.soraely inrite 

and gallantly lead a lady to the dance; and the young Indian '-". 

unannoyed by obnoxious offers, at her own convenience, i; 
presents her personage to the one she designs to favor, and ir.js -, .;• 
etlv enga<Tes herself in the dance. And moreover, while an Ip-'-sn 
beau is not necessarily obliged to exhibit any gallantry as i 
belle, till she has herself manifV.sted her own food pirasur. 



230 [Senate 

matter, so, therefore, the belle cannot indulge herself in vascillant 
flirtations with any considerable number of beaux, without being at 
once detected ! 

On Thursday the religious ceremonies commenced ; and the coun- 
cil from the time it assembled, which was about 11 o'clock, A. M., 
till 3 or 4 o'clock, P. M., gave the most serious attention to the 
preaching of Jemmy Johnson, the Great High Priest, and the second 
in the succession under the new revelation. Though there are some 
evangelical believers among the Indians, the greater portion of them 
cherish the religion of their fathers. This, as they say, has been 
somewhat chantjed by the new revelation, which the Great Spirit 
made to one of ^heir prophets about 47 yeas ago, and which, as they 
also believe, was approved by Washington. The profound regard 
and veneration which the Indian has ever retained towards the name 
and memory of Washington, is most interesting evidence of his uni- 
versally appreciated worth ; and the fact that the red men regard him 
not merely as one of the best, but as the very best man that ever has 
existed, or that will ever exist, is beautifully illustrated in a singular 
credence which they maintain even to this day, viz : that Washington 
is the only white man who has ever entered Heaven, and is the only 
one who will enter there, till the end of the world. 

Among the Senecas, public religious exercises take place but once 
a year. At these times, Jemmy Johnson preaches hour after hour, 
for three days ; and then rests from any public discharge of ecclesi- 
astical offices the remaining 362 days of the year. On this, an unu- 
sual occasion, he restricted himself to a few hours in each of the last 
two days of the council. We were told by young Parker, who took 
notes of his preaching, that his subject matter on Thursday abounded 
with good teachings, enforced by appropriate and happy illustrations 
and striking imagery. After he had finished, the council took a short 
respite. Soon, however, a company of warriors ready and eager to 
engage in the celebrated " corn dance," made their appearance. 
They were differently attired. Whilesome were completely envelop- 
ed in a closely fitting and gaudy colored garb ; others, though per- 
haps without intending it, had made wonderfully close approaches to 
an imitation of the costume said to have been so fashionable in many 
parts of the State of Georgia during the last hot summer, and which 
is also said to have consisted simply of a shirt collar and a pair of spurs. 
But in truth, these warriors, with shoulders and limbs in a state of 
nudity, with faces bestreaked with paints, with jingling trinkets 
dangling at their knees, and with feathered war-caps waving above 
them, presented a truly picturesque and romantic aj)pearance. When 
tie Center of the council house had been cleared, and the musicians 
with the shell rattles had taken thei'- places, the dance commenced ; 
and for an hour and a half, perhaps two hours, it proceeded with sur- 
prising spirit and energy. Almost every posture of which the human 
frame is susceptible, without absolutely making the feet to be upper- 
most, and the head for once, to assume the place of the understandings 
was exhibited. Some of the attitudes of the dancers, were really 
imposing, and the dance as a whole, could be got up and conducted 



No. 24. J 231 

only by Indians ! The women in the pcrfonn«nce of the corn dance 
are quite by theniselves— keepuij; t.iuv to th.- beat of the siii-IU, ana 
gliding along sideways, without scarcely lifting their feci Uuni the 
floor. 

It would probably be well, if the IikImh .very wIi.tp, ro.jlH be 
inclined to refrain at least from the more gioliMjuc : 
peculiarities of this dance. The inlliience of th. s.- ...r. 
tive of any good ; and it is (|ueNtioiial)le wh.ther it w , 

so long as they are retained, to assimihite them to any i,.; ^ ,.,1 

of civilization or to more refined methods of livinfr and rnjoyment, 
than they now possess. The same may be said of certain ( 1. 
tics of the still more vandalic war dance. Tliis, howtnr, 
introduced at the council. 

A part of the proceedings of Friday — the last day of the council, bore 
resemblance to those of theprecedint,' day. Jemniy Johnson rc»umed 
his preaching ; at the close of which the corn dance was again per- 
formed, though with far more spirit and enthusiasm than at the fimt. 
Double the numbers that then appeared — all hardy and sinewv men, 
attiied in original and fantastic style, among whom was one 'of the 
chiefs of the confederacy, together with 40 or oO women of the differ- 
ent nations — now engaged and for two hours persevered in the per- 
formance of the various, complicated and fatinuini; movement* of thi» 
dance. The appearance of the dusky throng, with it.s increased num- 
bers, and, of course proportionably increase(l resources for the pro- 
duction of shrill whoops and noisy stamping, and for i' • ' ' i 
of striking attitudes and rampant motions, was altopi 
w^onderful and seemingly super-human. 

After the dance had ceased, another kind of " sport," a well con- 
tested foot race, claimed attention. In tiie evening, after another sup- 
per in the Council House, the more social dances, — the trotting, the 
fish — and one in which the women alone participated, were resumed. 
The fish dance seemed to be the favorite ; and being invited to join 
it by one of the chiefs, we at once accepted the invitation, a*^'! fal- 
lowed in mirthful chase of plc'dsuie, with a hundred forest ■ 
Occasionally the dances are characterised with ebullitions < ; 
raent and flashes of real fun ; but generally a singular sobnety and 
decorum are observed. Frequently, when gazing at a thrrr • • * " 
or perhaps an hundred dancers, we have been scarcely able t 
which was the most remarkable, the staid and impertut' 
of the old men and women, or the complete absence > 
frolicsomeness in the youn<^. 

The social dances of the evening — with occasional sp< < . !.. s from 
the Sachems and Chiefs, were the final and concluding h of 

this singular but interesting affair. Saturday morning \'>.\..> -■ .i the 
separation of the various nations, and the departure of «uch to th«*»r 
respective homes. 

The writer would like to have said a word or two In relsti^n f^fh^ 
present condition and prospects of the Indians, but • 
in regard to both the topics and brevity of this wri' ^ ^ 

already greatly transcended, it must be deferred. The once powerful 



232 

confederacy of the Six Nations, occupying in its palmy days the greater 
portion of New-York State, now number only a little over 3,000.* 
Even this remnant will soon be gone. In view of this, as well as of 
the known fact that the Indian race is every where gradually dimin- 
ishing in number, the writer cannot close without invoking for this 
unfortunate people, renewed kindliness and sympathy and benevoleat 
attention. It is true, that with some few exceptions, they possess 
habits and characteristics which render them difficult to approach ; 
but still, they are only what the Creator of us all has made them. 
And, let it be remembered, it must be a large measure of kindliness 
and benevolence, that will repay the injustice and wrong that have 
been inflicted upon them. R. S. G. 

Rochester^ Oct. 7, 1845. 

• 3,753, vide preceding census. 



No. 24.J 233 

(C. ) 
Letter from J. V. IL Clark to Henry K, S.hoolrrafL 

_. _ ^ Manlius, Oct. CM, 1846. 

H. R, Schoolcraft, Esq., 

Dear Sir — Agreeable to your request I have brcn upon the 
grounds in our vicinity once cccupied as forts ami placi-» of drfrnce. 
So devastating has been the hand of time and the works of civilized 
men, that little can now be possibly gleaned by observation. Our 
main reliance in these matters must depend almost entirelv upnn the 
recollectionsof early settlers and traditions. Many of i!;. • ti, 

as you are aware, are dilferenlly related by ditTere'nt in.; nd 

not unfrequentiy in material points contradiitory. From cartful 
investigation and inquiry I have been enabled to add a little lo what 
I had previously gathered and referred you to, in the New-York 
Spectator. A locality in the town of Cazenovia, Madison co., near 
the countyMine, and on Lot 33, Township of Pompey, Onondaga 
CO., called the '■^ Indicm Fort,'^ was not de^cribcd in that p;.pcr. It 
is about four miles southeasterly from Manlius village, situated r n a 
slight eminence, which is nearly surrounded by a devp ravine, ibe 
banks of which are quite steep and somewhat rocky. The ravine is 
in shape like an ox-bow, made by two streams, which pass nearly 
around it and unite. Across this bow at the opening, was an lartbro 
wall running southeast and northwest, and when fust notin-d hy th*" 
early settlers, was four or five feet high, straight, with ^ 
a ditch in front, from two to three feet deep. Within t: 
may be about ten or twelve acres of land. A pari of this ground, 
when first occupied in these latter times, was called the " iVuim," 
and is noted now among the old men as the plate where the first 
battalion training (military) was helil in the county of Onondaga. 
But that portion near the wall, ami in front of it, hat rrr#«ntly. say 
five years ago, been cleared of a heavy growth of ' ^er. 

Many of the trees were large, and were probably i - ; - ats 

old. Some were standing in the ditch and others on the top oi ibc 
embankment. There is a considerable burying place icithin the 
enclosure. The plough has already done much lowartis K vrlinj; the 
wall and ditch ■ still they can be easily traced the whole extent. A 
few more ploughings an(l harrowings and no vestige of it will rrmaio. 
The specimens of dark brown pottery I send with ' 
locality. I picked them up at this visit. These sp« 
what numerous upon this ground now. Almost every rariciy oi 
Indian relic has been found about here, but so fastidious are lh« 
holders of them, that I have not been able to procure any for you, 
and cannot, except at a price. However, they lan be of little coos«- 
quence, as they are described in the article above reU-rred to. Dm 
fact, will, I think, apply to this locality, that does not belong to toy 

[Senate, No. 24. 30 



234 [Senate 

other of the kind in this region, that I know of. Two cannon balls, 
of about 3 lbs. each, were found in the vicinity, showing that light 
cannon were used, either for defence, or in the reduction of this forti- 
fication. There is a large rock in the ravine on the south, on which 
are inscribed the following characters, thus, IIIIIX, cut three-quarters 
of an inch broad, nine inches long, three-quarters of an inch deep, 
perfectly regular, lines straight. Whether it was a work of fancy, 
or had significance, I know not. Perhaps you may determine. 

On the site of the village of Cazenovia, I am told there was a fort 
or embankment ; some persons say it was " roundish;''^ others that 
it was " angular^ with sides at right angles?^ Recollections respect- 
ing it are very imperfect. Many relics have been found here, indi- 
cating an earlier occupancy than those usually found in this county. 
This was on the Oneida's territory. There is a singular coincidence 
in the location of these fortifications which I have never observed 
until my recent visit. They are nearly all, if not quite all, situated 
on land rather elevated above that which is immediately contiguous, 
and surrounded, or partly so, by deep ravines, so that these form a 
part of the fortification themselves. At one of these (on the farm of 
David Williams, in Pompey,) the banks on either side are found to 
contain bullets of lead, as if shot across at opposing forces. The 
space between may be about three or four rods, and the natural cut- 
ting twenty or twenty-five feet deep. This only goes to show the 
care these architects had in selecting the most favorable situations for 
defence, and the fear and expectation they were in of attacks. 

I do not believe any of the fortifications in this neighborhood are 
more ancient than the period of the French settlement of missionaries 
among the Onondagas, during the early part of the 17th century. 
But the more I investigate, the more I am convinced that there were 
many more of the French established here among the Indians, by far, 
than has been generally supposed, and their continuance with them 
longer. 

The nature of the articles found, utensils of farmers and mechanics, 
hoes, axes, horseshoes, hammers, &c., go to prove that agriculture 
was practised somewhat extensively, as well as the mechanic arts. 
The Indian name by which it was anciently called, and is now^, by the 
natives, I think goes to substantiate this fact : " Ote-que-sah'-e-eh," 
an open place with much grass, an opening, or prairie. The timber 
has a vigorous growth, and although in many places large, there is a 
uniformity in the size and age, which shows that it has all grown up 
since the occupancy ; because under the trees are not only found the 
relics, but among them in many instances, corn hills can be traced in 
rows at considerable distances. 

The presentation of medals, I believe to have been a very common 
custom among the missionaries and traders. Several have been found. 
A valuable cross of pure gohl, sold for $30, was found on the farm 
of Mr. David Hinsdale, west part of Pompey. The significant "IHS" 
was upon it. Brass crosses are frequently found, and so are medals 
of the same metal. One recently found on the last named farm, 
about the size of a shilling piece. The figure of a Roman Pontiff in 



No. 24.J 035 

a standing position, in his hand a crosier, surrounded with thi» in- 
scription, •'^. n>.. sin. P. onpt. con," which I h-re vrnturctl to 
write out, Beata nrf^o stneperaito oHginali concepta^' or m w« might 
say in Enijflish, 'nhf blessed vir^rin conceived without origmtl »m.*' On 
the other side was a representation of the brazen Rrrpt-nt, aod two 
nearly nakeil figures, looking intently upon it Thj* it hv f»r the 
most perfect one I have seen. The letters are as perfect ri'if itruck 
but yestcrd?y. It was undoubtedly compressed bi-twrrn diM. It u 
oval in shape, and bored that it might be suspendc*! from the neck. 
A silver medal was found near Kagle vilhiu'i-, two miles nut of Uu», 
about the size of a tioUar, but a little thinner, with a ring or loop at 
one edge to admit a cord by which it might be suspindnl. On one 
side appears in relief, a somewhat rude representation of a fortified 
town, with several tall s'eeples rising above its buildmgs, and a cita- 
del, from which the British flag is flying. A river broken by an island 
or two, occupies the foreground, and :ibove, aloni: llu' upper etigc of 
the medal, is t!.e name Montreal. 'Ihe initials I). C. F., probably 
those of the manulacturer, are stamped below. On the opposite itide, 
which was originally made blank, are engraved the words Canecya, 
Onondagoes, which are doubtless the name and tribe of the red ruler 
on whose dusky breast, this ornament was liisplayed. A valuable 
token of friendship of some British governor of New- Vork, or Canada, 
to an influential ally among the Six Nations. There is no tlate on 
this, or any of the medals. But this must be at least older than the 
revolution, and probably an hundred snows at least, have fallen on the 
field where the plough disinterred it, since the chief whose name it 
has preserved, was laid to rest with hi» fathers. 

I iiave sent with this, such relics and Indian trinkets, as I could 
prevail upon our people here to part with. They are levi than I ex- 
pected to obtain. The gun lock, spear head, axe, piece of gun bar- 
rel, and lead ball, arc all of the size and patterns u.sually found. 
They are from the farm of Mr. David Hinsdale, in the town of Pom- 
pey, west part. All the gun barrels, or parts of them, are fouDd 
flattened similar to this. Not a perfect one has been found. The 
two parts of the axe, want about two inches between the broken por- 
tions to make the " ij7 " of the ordinary length. The stone ax«>s, I 
thought might interest you. I have no doubt they were used intlay- 
ing animals slain in the chase, as well as in cleaving wood. I did 
intend to send you a beautiful gouije of hornblend*', but to my sur- 
prise, it is not to be found ; the like are frequently found here. It 
proves conclusively, that the natives were at an early d. '. - nted 

with the virtues of the maple, and possessed the art of i ^ar. 

I have sent, as you will see, fragments of pipes of many vuruurt. 
The patterns are as various as the articles are numerou*. The speci- 
mens of glass are difl"erent from any I have seen from any 'er. 
I think some of the beads may have been used in ro.s-. > . : .the 
native proselytes. I have lately seen a fragment of a bell, which, 
when whole, would have weigheil probably 200 lbs., the metal u rery 
fine, and from appearance, this article must have been of considerable 



236 [Senate 

value ; time and exposure has not changed it in the least. When 
found, some 20 years since, it was broken up and the pieces found, 
enough to make it nearly entire. 

I am aware, that I am corresponding with one far more experienc- 
ed in these matters, than myself, and therefore, forbear obtruding my 
views and opinions further. If you have not a particular desire to 
place the-e things in your own cabinet, they might perhaps, be pro- 
fitably disposed of, among the rare things of the New-York Historical 
Society. Dispose of them as you think best, I am sorry I could not 
obtain more. 

I am, with sentiments of high regard. 



5 

ol 
J. V. H. CLARK.. 



Your ob't. 



No. 24.J 237 



(B ) 
Letter from 3Ir. Cusick to Ilcinv K S( hoolcruli. 

It appears to rac, very c^reat difllcultics are in tin- way f'i fm.lmg 
out and becominc; acquainted with the discovery of all ancient lni»li- 
tions, and what original stock we cqme from. So far as our recol- 
lections extend according to our traditions of many centuries, the 
aborigines who inhabited the vast wilderness in this cr«at . 
now North America, were guided and led hy a crrlain i 
stood highest in dignity, and next to the Supreme ]'< . i* 

called TnARONYAWAGO, that is to say, being intcrprrtcd. rof 

Heavens. He was the great leader of the Red Mm, and he ropilatetl 
and taught how to divide the country and rivers, and motic of their 
living, and manners of costume and ceremonies, in many centuries. 
The Tuscaroras were descended from the Iroquois; thev «; ! 

from the Five Nations to the Southern Country in North ' 
and when the Iroquois used to send expeditions and war par' 
to war with other Indian tribes in that (juarter, these parties w. 
Tuscarora towns in North Carolina, and found a resting place and 
refreshment, and they used to be in the habit of intermarriage 
with each other, they have never been to war a(;ainst each oth^r, 
and they were always on terms of good friend^' 
ion. And therefore we considered that the I 
belonged to the Six Nations from ancient times. Btiuft- ii.' 
ery by Columbus the Tuscaroras consisted of six town«i, . 
were a most powerful nation, numbering more than twelve ihnusanti 
warriors. But many combinations and causes fell upon the Tusca- 
rora nation, and they became diminished in their number?, by vrars 
and pestilence, and were poisoned hy ardent spirits. The T ^ 

had manv years of enjoyment and peaceful possession on tht ' 
river, until the Colony was planted near the settlement ; •- 
brought up disturbances, ami their right was dispute*! to ll.. 
lory. In 1712 the Indians of the Tuscaroras in North Carolina, witii 
their accustomed secrecy, formed the design of exterminating in one 
night, the entire white population ; the slaughter on the Koanoke was 
great, Capt. Barnwell appointed, and sent troops, wh" '" '• at- 
tacked the Tuscaroras, he killed 300, and took 100 . . the 
survivors retreated to Tuscarora town, within a wooden brcot-Mork, 
where at last they sued for peace. 

The Tuscaroras, soon after abandoned their country, and unileJ 
themselves with the Iroquois, and became the Sixth N.itjon. When 
we first came into this country, we lived with the Oneula nation, 
(now Oneida county,) and we called the Om-idas *' '" ' - Brother, 
the second is the Cayusras, the youngest Brothf-r 'I 

When the first missionary was sent to the 'I 
Eld. Elkanah Holmes, from the New York M.. . 



238 [Senate 

bored several years with success, among them. This Mr. Holmes 
belonged to the Baptist Missionary Society. Afterwards, when Mr. 
Holmes was removed, another missionary was sent to the Tuscaroras 
by tLe American Foreign Mission, namely, the Rev. Mr. Grey, who 
remained until last war. After his dismissal in 1816, another mis- 
sionary was sent by the Board of the New York Missionary Society, 
the Rev. James C. Crane. I will state briefly, those missionaries who 
afterwards came to the Tuscaroras, Rev. B. Lane, Rev. John Elliot, 
Rev. Joel Wood, Rev. Mr. Williams, the last who is now missionary, 
was the Rev. Gilbert Rockwood. In 1836, a portion of the Tusca- 
rora nation thought expedient to become Baptists, according to the 
dictates of their own conscience, and free enjoyment of their religion 
in this republican government. And consequently a Baptist church 
was built and organized among the Tuscaroras ; and they were called 
in council with several Baptist churches in this county. In 1838, they 
were admitted into the Niagara Baptist Association at Shelby. And have 
now in good standing fifty members of the church. In a ministerial 
council, June 14th, 1838, Mr.James Cusick was examined touching 
his Christian experience, and called to preach the gospel by Provi- 
dence and the council ; they decided on that question, and give him 
ordination as a native preacher, deciding that he was well qualified 
by a knowledge of theology. And now he has labored with several 
tribes among the Six Nations. Under his instrumentality, three 
Baptist churches have been formed, numbering 200 members, and he 
established a temperance society in 1830 of more than 100 members. 
In 1845 he established another temperance society among the In- 
dians, numbering 50 members. Intemperance is one of the greatest 
and most destructive evils, and many more begin to be intemperate, 
especially among the young men. Among the females of the Tusca- 
rora nation there is more virtue and sobriety and good morals than 
among the males. I hope the white citizens will try to assist them 
and promote the melioration of the Indian condition in order to qual- 
ify him for life and lead him to appreciate its true end, and to encourage 
intermarriages in their future generations and to advance in civiliza- 
tion, Christianity, and industry. 

From your respected friend, 

JAMES CUSICK. 
N. B. At the Rev. Mr. Vrooman's, in Queenston, you will find a 
copy of my late brother David's book on the Indians. 

The following extracts are made from the curious publication re- 
ferred to, in the preceding note. It appears to have been first print- 
ed at Lewiston, in 1825. As the work of a full blooded Indian, of 
the Tuscarora tribe, it is remarkable. In making these extracts, no 
correction of the style, or grammar is made, these being deemed a 
part of the evidence of the authenticity of the traditions recorded. 

Account of the Settlement of North America. 
In the ancient days the Great Island appeared upon the big waters, 
the earth brought forth trees, herbs, vegetables, &c. The creation of 



.No. 24.] 235) 

the land animals : the Eairwchocwe people ^('ere too c rcatcl and r«i- 
ded in the north rep;ions ; and after a time some of the pmpic be- 
came giants, and committed outrages upon the inhabitant'?, kc 

Ancient Shipwreck. — After many years a body of Kafjwrhorwr 
people encamped on the bank of a majestic stream, an<l was named 
Ka7iawage, now St. Lawrence. After a Inntr time a numhrr of 
foreign people sailed from a port unknown ; but unfortunately, b. fore 
reached their destination the winds drove them contrary ; at 
length their ship wrecked somewhere on the southern pari of the 
Great Island, and many of the crews perished ; a few active prr«ont 
were saved ; they obtained some implements, and each of thrro was 
covered with a leather bag, the big liawks carried them on the ?»um- 
mit of a mountain and remained there but a short lime. The hawks 
seemed to threaten them, and were compelled to leave the mountain. 
They immediately selected a place for resilience and built a small for- 
tification in order to provide against tlie attacks of furious beasts ; if 
there should be any made. After many years the foreign people 
became numerous, and extended their settlements ; but afterwards 
they were destroyed by the monsters that overrun the country. 

Origin of the Five Nations. 

By some inducement a body of people was concealed in the moun- 
tain at the falls named Kuskehsawkich, (now Oswego.) When ihc 
people were released from the mountain they were visited bv T.\- 
RENYAWAGON, i. e. the Holder of the Heavens, who had power 
to change himself into various shapes : he ordered ihe people to 
proceed towards the sunrise as he guided them and came lo a river 
and named Yenonanatche, i. e. going round a mountain, (now Mo- 
hawk) and went down the bank of the river and came to where it 
discharges into a great river running towards the midday sun ; and 
named Shaw-nay-ta\v-ty, i. e. beyond the Pineries, (now Ht!'!«An.) 
and went down the bank of the river and touched the bank o- 
water. The company made encampment at the place and :■ 
there a few days. The people were yet in one language ; some of 
the people went on the banks of the great water towards ihe midday 
sun ; but the main company returned as they came, on the bank of 
the river, under the direciion of the Holder of the Heavens. Of this 
company there was a particular body which cal'ed themselves i»ne 
household ; cf these were six lamilitsand they entered into a resolu- 
tion to preserve the chain of alliance which should not be extin- 
guished in any manner. 

The company advanced some distance up the river of Sh.iw-na- 
taw-ty, (Hudson) the Holder of the Heavens directs the first familf 
to make their residence near the bank of the river, and t). 
was named Te-haw-re-ho-geh, i. e. a Speech divided, (now N' 
and their language was soon altered ; the company then l>. 
went towards the sunsetting and travelled about two days ar. 
and come to a creek* which was named Kaw-na-taw-ieruh, i. e. 



• The creek now branches of the Su»queh»nn« Ri»«r al Iht bttJ fciMnUr «U«d Col. 
Allen's lake, t«n milei iouth of the Oncidi Casde. 



240 [Senate 

Pineries. The second family was directed to make their residence 
near the creek, and the family was named Ne-haw-re-tah-go, i. e. 
Big Tree, now Oneidas, and likewise their language was altered. 
The company continued to proceed towards the sunsetting under the 
direction of the Holder of the Heavens. The third family was 
directed to make their residence on a mountain named Onondaga, 
(now Onondaga) and the family was named Seuh-now-kah-tah, i. e. 
carrying the name, and their language was altered. The company 
continued their journey towards the sunsetting. The fourth family 
was directed to make their residence near a long lake named Go-yo- 
goh, i. e. a mountain rising from water, (now Cayuga) and the family 
■vvas named Sho-nea-na-w^e-to-wah, i. e. a great pipe, their language 
was altered. The company continued to proceed towards the sun- 
setting. The fifth family was directed to make their residence near 
a high mountain, or rather nole, situated south of the Canandaigua 
lake, which was named Jenneatowake and the family was named Te- 
how-nea-nyo-hent, i. e. Possessing a Door, now Seneca, and their 
language was altered. The sixth family went with the company that 
journeyed towards the sunsetting, and touched the bank of a great 
lake, and named Kau-ha-gwa-rah-ka, i. e. A Cap, now Erie, and 
then went towards between the midday and sunsetting, and travelled 
considerable distance and came to a large river which was named 
Ouau-we-yo-ka, i. e. a principal stream, now Mississippi ; the peo- 
ple discovered a grape vine lying across the river by which a part of 
the people went over, but while they were engageel, the vine broke 
and were divided, they became enemies to those that went over the 
river ; in consequence they were obliged to disperse the journey. 
The Holder of the Heavens instructs them in the art of bows and 
arrows in the time of game and danger. Associates were dispersed 
and each family went to search for residences according to their con- 
veniences of game. The sixth family went towards the sunrise and 
touched the bank of the great water. The family was directed to 
make their residence near Cau-ta-noh, i. e. Pine in water, situated 
near the mouth of Nuse River, now in North Carolina, and the family 
w.is named Kau-ta-noh, now Tuscarora and their language was also al- 
tered j but the six families did not go so far as to loose the understand- 
ing of each other's language. The Holder of the Heavens returns to 
the five iamilies and forms the mode of confederacy, which was named 
Ggo-nea-seab-neh, i. e. A Long House, to which are, 1st. — Tea-kaw- 
reh-ho-geh, 2d— New-haw-teh-tah-go ; 3d.— Seuh-nau-ka-ta ; 4th— 
Sho-nea-na-we-to-wah ; 5th. — Te-hoo-nea-nyo-hent. 



No. 24. j 



241 



Letter from S. A. 



( E. ) 

(loodwiii to Ilciiry \i. ScliooU 
cmft. 



Jlubuni, Oct. 17, iai5. 
My Dear Sir — I received yours of the 2.1 inst. in liue cnurM* of 
post, and now send you, lit tlie first practiealjle moment, :i din^^ram 
and sketch of the " OKI Fort." My en^i\c;enient.s have been stich ax 
to prevent my going out to Geneva, and making a trip to the old 
fortification alluded to. As to the other one here referred to by 
McAuley, it is just back of my house, and as sonn as I liavc timp 
to make an examination I will drop you a line respcrtini,' it. I ^o to 
Rochester, to attend supreme court, tn-morrow. I sii;ill try. on mv 
return, to stop at Geneva anil get a sketch of that one 

Very truly vour friend, 

"S. H. (JOODWIN 




Diagram of an ancient forlification on Fort Hill, Auburn \. V. 



[Senate, No. 24. 



31 



242 [Senate 

This enclosure is situate on the highest point of land in the vici- 
nity of Auburn, and is in the form of an ellipsis ; and measures in 
diameter, from east to west, (from the outside of the base of the 
embankment) four hundred and sixteen feet, and from north to south, 
three hundred and ten feet ; the circumference, twelve hundred feet ; 
present height of the highest part of the embankment on the west 
side from the bottom of the ditch, four feet ; the thickness at the 
base, fourteen feet ; from the centre of the enclosure the ground has 
a gentle slope to the north, east and west, and is nearly level towards 
the south. The openings on the south, one of sixty and the other of 
seventy-eight feet, are directly opposite or against deep ravines 
separated by a narrow steep ridge, access through which would be 
difficult, being on an angle of nearly forty-five degrees. The opening- 
en the north measures one hundred and sixty-six feet, opposite to 
which the ground continues to slope to the north for the distance of 
seventy feet, from which point the descent is very abrupt. The 
opening on the east measures sixty-six feet, opposite to which the 
ground continues on a gentle descent to the east for several hundred 
feet. The opening on the southwest measures fifty feet, and is 
opposite to a ridge gently descending to the southwest. There are 
no less than ten deep ravines and as many steep ridges surrounding 
and leading to this ancient fortification. 

McAuley, in his history of the State of New-York, Vol. 2d, pages 
111 and 112, gives a minute and interesting description of this forti- 
fication, which, however, contains some inaccuracies ; and also of 
another fortification situate in the noitheast part of Auburn. The 
large chesnut stump described by him as standing in the moat on the 
west side of the enclosure, is still to be seen ; there are still to be 
seen the remains of two large oak stumps, which seem to have escaped 
his notice, situate on the southeast side of the enclosure, one of them 
on the top of the embankment, and the other in tlie ditch some twelve 
feet distant. There are scarcely any traces remaining of the fortifi- 
cation described by McAuley as being in the north east part of 
Auburn, from the fact that the ground upon which it stood has been 
under cultivation for many years. 

JAMES H. BOSTWICK, Surveyor. 

October 16, 1845. 



No 24.] 343 



( »•■ ) 

Letter trom Frederick I'ollct to llcnrv K Scliuul- 

craft. 

Batnvia, Oct. 2:j, 184.0. 

Dear Sir — My private and public duties together prevented my 
makinp: a visit to "Fort Hill," until the 22d inst. and I proceed to 
give you ray ideas of that formation. 

The ground known as " Fort HilT' is situated about three niilc« 
north of the village of Le Roy, and ten or twelve miles northeast 
from Batavia, the capitol of Genesee county. The belter view of 
" Fort Hill" is had to the north of it, about a quarter of a mile, on 
the road leading from Bergen to Le Roy. From this point of obser- 
vation it needs little aid of the imagination to conceive tl)at it wa* 
erected as a fortification by a large and powerful army, looking for a 
permanent and almost inaccessible bulwark of defence. From the 
centre of the " Hill," in the northwesterly course, the country lies 
quite flat — immediately north, and inclining to the east, the land is 
also level ^r one hundred rods, when it rises nearly as high as the 
" Hill," and continues for several miles quite elevateil. In approach- 
ing the " Hill" from the north it stands very prominently before you, 
rising rather abruptly, though not perpendicularly, to the height of 
eighty or ninety feet, extending about forty rods on a line east and 
west, the corners being round or truncated, and continuing to the 
south on the west side for some sixty rods, and on the east side for 
about half a mile, maintaining about the same elevation at the sides 
as in front ; beyond which distance the line of the " Hill" is that of 
the land around. 

" Fort Hill," however, is not a work of art. The geological cha- 
racter of it show^s it to be the result of natural causes. Neverthelwa, 
there are undoubted evidences of its once having been resorted to as 
a fortification, and of its having constituted a valuable point of de- 
fence to a rude and half-civilized people. 

It is probable that at a period of time very far distant, the ground 
about " Fort Hill" was, for some considerable distance around, entirely 
of the same level, and that by the action of water, a change took 
place, which brought about the present condition. The low land 
immediately in front to the north, is only the remains of a water 
course, which was made up of a stream coming down the gorge of 
the west side, and the present " Allen's creek," which flows through 
a portion of the gorge of the cast side, the stream of the west har- 



244 [Senate 

ing been a branch of that of the east side. Through the west gorge 
now flows, in the wet season, a moderate stream, coming from the 
]ands above the gorge, and having an interrupted fall of some forty 
or fifty feet ; while " Allen's creek" occupies a portion of the eastern 
gorge, much broader, at the extremity of which, some half a mile 
from the " Hill," there is a beautiful fall of eighty feet perpendicu- 
larly. The structure of the " Hill" bears out this construction ; it 
being composed of the same rock — with the exception of the upper 
strata — as the falls. At the falls the upper strata of rock and that 
which forms the bed of the creek for some two miles or more east, is 
the corniferous limestone ; underlaying which are hydraulic and 
Ono?idoga limestones. The two latter are only seen at " Fort Hill," 
covered by a few feet of soil and several small masses of stone, n 
part out of place, among which are a few of Medina sandstone. 
The strata are, therefore continuous from the falls, and at some former 
periods, extended over the gorges, and formed a regular and nearly 
level surface, the action of water having removed, which has left the 
broad and conspicuous point of " Fort Hill," as memorable monu- 
ments of the earlier condition of the country. 

When " Fort liill" was used as a fortification the summit was en- 
trenched. Forty years ago an entrenchment, ten feet deep and some 
twelve or fifteen wide, extended from the west to the east end, along 
the north or front part, and continued up each side about twenty 
rods, where it crossed over and joining, made the circuit of entrench- 
ment complete. At this day a portion of this entrenchment is easily 
perceived for fifteen rods along the extreme western half of the north 
or front part, the cultivation of the soil, with other causes, having 
nearly obliterated all other portions. It would seem that this forti- 
fication was arranged more for protection against invasion from the 
north than from any other quarter, this direction evidently being its 
most commanding position. Near the northwest corner have, at 
different times, been found collections of rounded stones of hard con- 
sistence, which are supposed to have been used as weapons of defence 
by the besieged against the besiegers. 

Arrow-heads, made of flint or horn-stone, gouges, pestles, hatchets, 
and other weapons formeil from stone, have been found about the 
"Hill" and throughout this section. Of the rarer articles, are pipes 
and beads, a few of the latter of which I have been able to obtain. 
The gouges, pestles and hatchets, are, I think, frequently made of 
compact limestone, probably what is now known in Mr. Hall's State 
Teport as the one foot limestone at Le Roy, though many of them 
seem to be formed of primitive rock, and very likely were worked 
out from boulders scattered about the country. 

Skeletons found about "Fort Hill" and its vicinity sustain the 
impression that the former occupants of this " military station" were 
of a larger and more powerful race of men than ourselves. I learned 
that the skeletons generally indicated a stouter and larger frame. 
An humerus or shoulder bone of which preserved may safely be said 
to be one-third larger or stouter than any now swung by the living. 
A resident of Batavia, Thomas T. Everett, M. D., has ia his cabinet 



No. 24.J 245 

a portion of a lower jaw bone full one-thinl lari^er thai anv pon 
sessed by the present race ol" men, which was fouml in u hi'll nrar 
Le Roy, some two years since. From the sjime hill nrrow-hiatlv 
and other articles have been removed for many vearj*. 

The articles I send you are as follows : — No.'l, an Imlinn t»oM«^. 
made of very hard stone, found at "Fort Hill;" No. : . 
heads, of flint ; No. -1, beads ; No. 5, a bead, fvidtntly for; 
a tooth, as the enamel and other distinctive marks indiealc ; Ho. 6 
a bead, apparently of bone. 

No. 2 is a stone tomahawk, presented to mc b5 Jerome A. CiaUK . 
Esq., of this villap:c. It was found on his premises half a mile ■out. 
of this place. I iierewith present it to you. 

These articles I iiave M-nt to-day by a friend, and you will fm«l tlun, 
by calling at Tammany Hall. 1 have not ytl been able to \i«.it 
Tonawanda, but am in hoj)es to do so in a day or two. 

Your ob't serv't, 

FUEDEKICK FOLLETr. 



246 [Senate 



(G. ) 
Letter from C. Dewey to Henry R. Schoolcraft. 

Fort Hill. 

This is celebrated as being the remains of some ancient work, and 
was supposed to have been zfort. Though the name is pronounced 
as \i hill was the name of some individual, yet the place is a fort on 
a hill, in the loose use of the word. The name designates the place 
as ForMiill, to distinguish it from the hills which have no fort on 
them. Neither is it a hill, except as you rise from the swale on the 
north, for it is lower than the land to which it naturally belongs. 

As you pass towards Fort-Hill in the road from Le Roy village, 
which is about three miles to the south, you descend a little most of 
the distance to this place. The road passes a little west of the middle 
of the space nearly north and south. 

The shape is quadrangular, and is shown in the diagram or ground 
plot. 

On the right and east side is the deep water course of Mien's 
Creek, cut down through the rocks for a mile or more, perhaps one 
hundred and thirty feet deep ; on the north is that of Fordham's 
Brook, of nearly the same depth, which drains a wide swale from the 
north and northwest ; and on the west is a short and deep ravine, 
which is a water course in some seasons of the year, where the waters 
fall over a precipice a little south of the quadrangular space, or forti- 
fication. This ravine is not so deep as the water courses on the east 
and north. The descent is quite steep on these three sides. At the 
northeast Allen's Creek turns to the east and receives the waters 
from Fordham's Brook. 

The quadrangular space, D, A, B, C, was enclosed by a trench, D 
A, nearly a north line on the east, by A B on the north, and B C on 
the west. 



No. 24.J 



24' 





^^mmKMMH'^ii'fm^ 




A B is the north trench about sixty rods loncj, and nearly east ami 
west. A D is about thirty rods, and B C is tifteen rods, and tprroi- 
nates at the ravine at C. The trench DA, and A B lies on the brow 
of the descent to the streams below. At D the bend of the ravinr 
stops the trench. At the northwtst corner B, a trench is continued 
about 15° to the risrht and down the declivity 15 rods to a spring ; 
50 feet perhaps below A B, and B G is the briAV of the desrcnt west 
of the tiench at B, and G C is the edt^e of the ravine on the wcsl. 
Q W is Allen's Creek on the east ; H I K is Fordhara's Brook on 
the north, and L P M is the water course on the west to the preci- 
pice at M, over which the water falls at some seasons, and the ^urfac« 
at M is only a few feet lower than the general level of the le. 

The space F was a burying fjround, as bones, skulls, y. ;», 

have been plouejhed up iluie The road K N passes thrnuijii thr 
middle nearly of the space encloseil by the trench, and at N turn* to 
the right to descend to the flat below ; but formerly the road turne«i 
to the right at U and passed down at the right of the trench at ?» 
TO T. 

The place was pointed out to mc by H. M. Ward, Fl««q., »hi was 
familiar with it when it was covered with the forest. He states thai 
the trench must have been eight to ten feet deep and as many wi«lr ; 
that the earth was thrown either way, but much of it inwards ; that 
the forest trees were standing in the trench and on the sides of it tm! 



248 [Senate 

of the same apparent age and magnitude as on the ground generally ; 
that the heart-wood of black cherry trees of large size was scattered 
over the ground, evidently the remains of a forest anterior to the then 
jrrowth of maple and beech, and that this black cherry was used by 
ihe settlers for timber ; that the road, when first made, crossed the 
trench at N by a bridge ; that the trench at D and A was cut down 
the bank a few feet, or else in time water had worn a passage from 
the trench downwards ; that there was no tradition heard of among, 
the Indians of the country, in respect to the use or design of the w^ork. 

The underlyino- rock is the hydraulic limestone of this section, 
which is fully exposed at the falls of Allen's Creek, half a mile south 
of Fort-Hill. This rock was struck in digging the trench on the 
north line in some places, and portions of it were thrown out with 
the earth. 

Of the pipes found at F one was formed from granular limestone ; 
one was of baked clay, in the form of the rude outlines of a man's 
head and face, nose, eyes, &c., and it reminds one of the figures in 
some of Stephens' Plates of the ruins of Palenque. It has the hol- 
lows for the ears to be fastened on, and shows no little effort. The 
top of the head is surrounded by a fillet or wreath, and behind are 
two more fillets. At the bottom of the neck is a similar ornament, 
and on the front is another below it. This is the most curious. 

Another pipe is of reddish baked clay, with some pits or dots for 
ornament upon it, two rows of dots around it and another below like 
a chain suspended at several points and curved by its own weight. 

The forest has been removed. Not a tree remains on the quad- 
rangle, and only a few on the edge of the ravine on the west. By 
cultivating the land, the trench is nearly filled in some places, though 
the line of it is clearly seen. On the north side the trench is con- 
siderable, and where the road crosses it, is three or four feet deep at 
the sides of the road. It will take only a few years more to oblite- 
rate it entirely, as not even a stump remains to mark out its line. 

From this view it may be seen or inferred, 

1. That a real trench bounded three sides of the quadrangle. On 
the soutli side there \vas not found any trace of trench, palisadoes, 
blocks, &c. 

2. It was formed long before the whites came into the country. 
The large trees on the ground and in the trench, carry us back to an 
early era. 

3. The workers must have had some convenient tools for excava- 
tion. 

4. The direction of the sides may have had some reference to the 
four cardinal points, though the situation of the ravines naturally 
marked out the lines. 

5. It cannot have been designed merely to catch wild animals to 
hv. driven into it from the south. The oblique cut down to the spring 
is opposed to this supposition, as well as the insufH. iency of such a 
trench to confine the animals of the forest. 

6. The same reasons render it improbable that the quadrangle was 
designed to confine antl protect domestic animals. 



No. 24.J 249 

7. It was probably a sort of fortified place. There miffht bare been a 
defenre on the south by a ,<r/oc/.(2(/,' or some similar m...!.-. whi.h 
might have entirely disappeared. 

By what people was this work done 1 

The articles found in the buryinf; ground at V. offrr no certain 
reply. The axes, chissels, &i-. found on the Inchan grounds in thi« 
part of the State, were evidently ni;ide of the ^rt-rnsiDnc or Iran <,{ 
New England, like those found on the Connrcticut river, in N! 
chusets. The pipe of limestone mi'^^ht be from that part d .i.c 
country. The pipes seem to belong to different eras. 

1. The limestone pipe indicates the work of the savaj^e, or abori 
gines. 

2. The third indicates the ajje of French inllurncc over the In.linns. 
An intelligent French gentleman says sucli clay pi|K-s arc treijufnt 
among the town population in parts of France. 

3. The second and most cuiious seems to indicate an earlier ap«* 
and people. 

The beads found at Fort Hill are long and coarse, maile of baked 
clay, an<l may have had the si.me origin as the third J>ipe. 

Fort Mill cannot have been formed by the French, as one of their 
posts to aid in the destruction of the English colonic.**. 

In 1689, or 156 years ago, the French in Canada made vnrious 
attempts to destroy the English colony of New-York. If the French 
had made Fort Hill a post as early as 1660, or 1S5 years ago, and 
then deserted it, the trees could not have gmwn to the size of the 
forest generally in ISIO, or in 150 years afterwards. The white n-t- 
tleinents had extended only "twelve miles west of Avon" in 1798, 
and some years after 1800, Fort Hill was covercil with a dense forest. 
A chesnut tree cut down in 1842, at Rochester, showed 254 concen- 
tric circles of wood, and must have been more than 200 years old in 
1800. So opposed is the notion that this was a deserted French 
post. 

Must we not refer Fort Hill to that race which peopled this cotin 
try before the Indians, who raised so many monuments greatly 
exceeding the power of the Indians, and who lived at a remote craf' 

H. R. Schoolcraft, Esq. : I forward you the observations nn Fort 
Hill, for your use. My speculations are adiled for my pleasure, and 
you will use them as you please. In great haste, I am obliged to 

close. 

Your obedient, 

(' I)KWF:Y 



[Senate, No. 24.] 32 



250 [Senate 



[H.] 

Letter from Rev. Gilbert Rockwood to Henry R. 
Schoolcraft. 

Tuscarcra Mision^ August 1, i845. 

Sir : — In the following communication, you can make use of sucb 
statements as you may deem proper. If all the statements should 
not be necessary for your official objects, yet they may be interesting 
to you as an individual. 

This mission was commenced about fifty years since, under the 
care of the " New-York Missionary Society," It was transferred to 
the " United Foreign Mission Society," in 1821, and to the " Ameri- 
can Board of Com. for Foreign Missions," in 1826. 

The church was organized in 1805, with five persons. The whole 
number of native members who have united since its organization is 
123. The present number of native members is 53 ; others 5, total 
58. 

Between July 1st, 1844, and July 1st, 1845, there were only three 
admissions, two by profession and one by letter. 

About one-third of the population attend meeting on the Sab- 
bath. Their meeting house was built by themselves, with a little 
assistance from abroad. 

They have also a school house, the expense of which was nearly 
all defrayed by themselves. There is but one school among them, 
which is kept the year through, with the exception of the vacations. 
The teacher is appointed by the American Board. The number of 
scholars the past year, is not far from 50. 

I have been among these Indians now nearly eight years. I can 
see that there has been an advance, both in their moral and physical 
condition. 

It is within the memory of many now living among them, when 
drunkenness was almost universal ; now, comparatively, few are in- 
temperate. A majority of the chiefs, are decide. !ly temperance men, 
and exert a salutary influence. They have a temperance society, and 
hold frequent meetings. They utterly forbid the traffic in intoxicat- 
ing drinks on tl^eir own soil. 

The marriage relation is being better understood by them, and more 
appreciated. More of the young men and women, enter into the 
marriage relation, in the regular christian way, than a few years ago. 
Four couple have been regularly married the past year. Number of 
deaths, 8 ; an unusual number since I have been among them. 



No. 24.] 251 

There is besides the church, above referreii to, a Baptist church, 
organized a few years siiue, the particulars of which, I am unable to 
give. For any information you may wish respecting it, I would refer 
you to James Cusick, their minister. 

On the whole, there is much to encourage the philanthropist and the 
christian in labors for the good and well being of the Indians here, 
although we meet with many obstacles and diiTKuilties in the way. 

They are becoming more and more industrious in tlnir habits, a« 
the appearance of their farms, and the amouiii of produfc, and their 
personal appearance will testify. 

With these brief statements, I subscribe myself, 

Yours, truly, 

r.TLMHRT ROCKWOOI). 



Vocabulary of the Tuscakoua, fkom William Chew, writtcw 

OUT AND TRANSMITTED BY THE RkV. CilLDERT RoCKWOOD. 



Note. — In affixing Indian words, to (he following vocabular>-, Mr. Chew, t»ho tpeaki 
the English very well, has promised to act as your translator and interpreter. The prin- 
cipal thing to be guarded against, however, is inaccuracy in the deflnitiunt, both la Lof- 
lish and Imlian. 

If there is no infinitive to verbs, as I s ppose, insert the limplett exicting form, u lla 
ioves, &f. 

Is tliere any participle to Tuscarora verbs! 

H. R. 8. 

To Mr. Rockwood. 



TUSCARORA. 

1 God Ya wuhn ne yuh. 

2 Devil Oo na sa roo nuh. 

3 Man Ehn kweh. 

4 Woman Hah wuhn nuh. 

5 Boy Kun chu kweh'r. 

6 Girl Ya te ah cha yeuh. 

7 Child Kats ah. 

8 Father (my) E ah kre ehn. 

9 Mother (iny) K a nuh. 

10 Husband (my) E na yah keah wuhn te kehn rea nuhn. 

11 Wife (my) (The same word as for my husl»and.) 

12 Son (his) Tr^b wuhn rub, nuh nuhn, a nc hah. 

13 Daughter (his) Tra wuhn rub, nuhn, kah-nuhn |nuhn. 

14 Brother (my) E ah ke ah t'keuh. 

15 Sister (my) Eab keah nuhn nooh'r. 

IG An Indian Rt'uh kweh hehn weh. 

17 Head Vah reh. 

18 Hair (his) 'i'rah wuhn rub, rah wch rah wuhn. 

19 Face (his)." " rah keuh stub keh 

20 Forehead (his) " " kcuh neuh keh. 

21 Scalp " " " ""^"'»- 



252 [Senate. 

22 Ear his Trah wuhn ruh kunh nunh keh. 

23 Eye " " " kah reuh keh. 

24 Nose " " " cheuh seuh keh. 

25 Nostril " " " cheuh kah reuh. 

26 Mouth " " " skah reuh. 

27 Tongue " " reuh toh neuh keh. 

28 Tooth " " " rah tooh tseh. 

29 Beard " " " sooh keh reh. 

30 Neck '' " "hah tseh. 

31 Arm " " " neuhcheuhkeuh 

32 Shoukler " " " nunh neh. 

33 Back " " " reuh wunh keh. 

34 Hand " " " rah eh nunh keh. 

35 Finger " - " " rooh kweh. 

36 Nail " •• " skeuh kah reh. 

37 Breast '' " " ah sunh keh. 

38 Body " " " keh s'heuh keh. 

39 Leg " " " reuh seuh keh. 

40 " " " 

41 Navel " " " ne seuh reuh keh 

42 Thigh " " " te cheuh keh. 

43 Knee " " " reuhkueht'sunh 

[keh. 

44 Foot " " rah rah neuh keh. 

45 Toe " " " sooh kweh. 

46 Heel " " '' teh heuh cheh. 

47 Bone " " " skeuh reh, 

48 Heart " " " ra re ah seh. 

49 Liver " " " rah t'wunh seh. 

50 Windpipe " « " hunh t'seh. 

51 Stomach " " " keh'r hah keuh. 

52 Bladder " " " te ah neh. 

53 Blood " « « t'kwahra. 

54 Vein " " " 1 nunh yah 

55 Sinew " « " \ t'seh. 

56 Flesh my E kwa reh. 

57 Skin " Ekanunhkeh. 

58 Seat " E ak tak. 

59 Thighbone " E k'te chi.nh keh skenh reh. 

60 Town " Kah tah nah yeuh. 

61 Townsman" Kah koo tah nah keuh' f hah. 

62 House Yah keuh nunh. 

63 Door Oo chah reh. 

64 Lodge Wah k'tah nah yeuh noh'gh. 

65 Smoke Oo chah reh. 

66 Chief Ya koo wah nunh. 

67 Warrior Roo skeuh rah keh reh. 

68 Friend Enh nunh rooh. 

69 Enemy Yeuh chunh t'seh, 

70 Kettle Oo nunh weh. 



No. 24. j 253 

71 Arrow Oo teh. 

■72 Bow Nah rhreh. 

73 Warclub Oo die kweh. 

74 Spear Chu rots. 

'75 Axe No keuh. 

76 Knife On suli keuli nch. 

77 Paddle Kah weh t'chra. 

78 Canoe Oo n;ili kch. 

79 Boat Oo Imnh weh. 

80 Ship Oo Imnh weh koo. 

81 Shoe Oo che koo ra 

82 Leggin Oo re stnh. 

83 Coat > ^ , , „ , , 

S4 Shirt \^ ° *^^" "■ "°° t thrch. 

85 Breachcloth Ya hah'r hooh stoh 

86 licit or sash Oo che hah tVhra. 

87 Head dress Holi toh kweh. 

88 Pipe Chali'rs hooh stoh. 

89 Tobacco Chah'rs hooh. 

90 Pipe stem Oo treh neh. 

91 Sky Oo renh } ahVs. 

92 Heaven Oo reiih yah keuhf. 

93 Sun He teh. 

94 Moon Ah t'seuh ye hah. 

95 Star .... Oo ne senh reh. 

96 Day A wunh neh 

97 Night A sunii neh. 

98 Cloud Oo roh'ts. 

99 Light Yu hooks. 

100 Darkness..! Yah weh toah yeuh. 

101 Morning ^ . . Tsoo teh'r hunh. 

102 Evening Yah tsa t'henh hah. 

103 Spring VVah'r wooh slroh'gh. 

104 Summer Oo kenh hoh keh. 

105 Autumn Roh t'sch keh. 

106 Winter Kooli seh r'heuh. 

107 Year Ah ooh streh. 

108 Wind Oo reh. 

109 Lightning Woh n'woh kah reh nah rcfk. 

110 Thunder He nunh. 

111 Rain Wane too'eh. 

112 Snow Oo nects reh. 

113 Hail Wah fkah ta he ts'ot. 

1 14 Fire Oo che reh. 

115 Water Ah wunh. 

116 Ice Oo we seh. 

117 Earth, land Ah wunh reh. 

118 Sea Knhn yah ta reyu. 

119 Lake Hahn yah ta reh. 

120 River Ke nunh. 



254 [Senate. 

121 Stream Hah s'nunh yeuh tih. 

122 Valley Ah wunh rah stroh kenh. 

123 Hill Yu nunh I'heh. 

124 Mountain Yu nunh yeuh tih. 

125 Plain Wah keuh nah yeuh. 

126 Forest Ooh r'hah nah keuhf. 

127 Meadow Ya ha re oh toh. 

128 Boo- Yu teh'r enh t'sah ne reuh. 

129 Island Yuh weh nooh. 

130 Stone Oo reuh neh. 

131 Rock Oo steuh reh. 

132 Silver Kah kwis tah no reuh. 

133 Copper Kwa nis nees. 

134 Iron Oo wa nunh. 

135 Lead Nah wah c'steh. 

136 Maize Oo nunh heh. 

137 Wheat Oo toos. 

138 Oats O'ch. 

139 Potatoe Oo nunh tseh. 

140 Turnip Oo che kwah. 

141 Tree Oo reuh eh. 

142 Wood Oo yeuh kwe reh. 

143 Pine Hoh teh. 

144 Oak Rah rooh. 

145 Ash Whoh't. 

146 Elm Kah rah t'kwoh. 

147 Basswood Oo hoo stroh. 

148 Shrub Kwe roh keuh. 

149 Leaf Oo euh reh. 

150 Bark Skeuh noh reh. 

15 1 Grass Yu ha ruh kweh. 

152 Nettles Yah koo ha roh roh'r. 

153 Thistle Oo ne keh weh. 

154 Weed Chu wa kah ha rah ka. 

155 Flower Oo che che streh. 

156 Bread Oo tah nah reh. 

157 Indian meal Oo nuh heh. 

158 Flour Oo teh c'hrah. 

159 Meat Wah reh. 

160 Beaver Chu noh keuh. 

161 Deer Ah kweh. 

162 Bison or buffalo Chu ta kre yoh keuh. 

163 Bear Oo che reuh. 

164 Otter Che ah ka we nuh. 

Grey fox red fox. 

165 Fox Che chuh. — Skeuh nahx seuh. 

166 Wolf Skwah re nunh. 

167 Dog Chee'sr. 

168 Squirrel Thah'st. 

169 Hare Kwa ruh. 



No. 24.] 265 

170 Lynx (No name. ) 

171 Panther T'kcuh na nih. 

172 Muskrat Ah nuh kwinh. 

173 Polecat (No name.) 

174 Hog Kwis kwis. 

175 Horse Hah hahts. 

176 Cow Oo na rali snlit. 

177 Sheep Wa rak seuh. 

1 78 Turtle Che koo wa. 

179 Toad Roo nunh skwah reuh. 

180 Insect Chick euh woh'r. 

181 Snake Oo skwah na. 

182 Bird Che nunh. 

183 Egg Ooh lieuli sch. 

184 Feather Oo snoo kre. 

185 Claw Oo sheuh kah reh. 

186 Beak Tuh cheuh sch. 

187 Wing Oo yeuh we ts'neh. 

188 Goose Kah tuh'ts euh. 

189 Partridge Oo kwa'ts euli. 

190 Duck Ts'uh yeuh. 

191 Pigeon Oo re neh. 

192 Plover (No name.) 

193 Turkey Keuh nuh. 

194 Crow Ah ah. 

195 Eagle Suh kwe ah. 

196 Hawk Ne yeuh ne yeuh. 

197 Snipe Tah wis ta wis. 

198 Owl Oo wah. 

199 Woodpecker Nah rah'r. 

200 Robin Roo skooh kooh. 

201 Fish Keuh chink. 

202 Trout Ruh te ohk teuh. 

203 Bass Keuh che ah heuh s'che. 

204 Pike Koo wahk. 

205 Sturgeon Hah rah. 

206 Sunfish Nah reh reh. 

207 Efl Keuli neli. 

208 Fin < >" too neh. 

209 Scale ^'^n s'neli. 

210 Roe Ta leh. 

211 White ^^f^ whali re ah kruii. 

212 Black Kah hunh s'ehe. 

213 Blue ^" t'l^ heuii re eli. 

214 Yellow 'I'ih kah che I'kah nahyeuh. 

215 Green ^^<^ l'"'i reh. 

216 Great We yu. 

217 Small Wast teuh. 

218 Strong f>" tc rruli. 

219 Old ^^ nunh hah ah. 



256 ,« 



220 Young Oo't oh. 

223 Handsome Yu yah tab yeuh snuh. 

^«? ;?••' -K.oh seuh. 

t?.^^''' Wunhheh. 

It.f7^ ' Yah wunh ha yeuh. 

iio i;;,^' ,• JJ^ yah wunh t'kwah. 

f^trff^ Keuhhayeuh. 

^^^.^'Y -•• Aht'huh. 

^???ot Yuhnahrehin. 

Jop 1°^'; Na yuh Che ra noh neh 

i^? Sweet Yahwakenh. 

Sslf:"::;:::; Yu Che wah kenh. 

235 Thou .*'.''* Ets 

f^^f' • Trah ya nueh teh. 

2oo^' Aya nueh teh. 

;,?7' E ah kvvah ya sunh teh. 

ilorr'^" Thwah ya sinh teh. 

f4?^;.7 Kahyayehsunhteh. 

Ly-------- •■■■••■•■•■■ "-"• 

?ff ^^1 T'wa'hn. 

i:t M Wa yu rah kwuhn. 

ttl ^2^. Yuh neh'r kenh hu hu. 

24^^°^^'"- Tsah wunh teh. 

1^1 ™° Kohna. 

'«^"o.-:::::::::;::;:^°-^''- 
pi&::;:::::::;;S„r^"'''^''-^-''- 

202T„„„„„„ Kuh yuh'r heuh. 

OK . XT ^^'^ heuh. 

l?t^\ Kwuhs. 

25fi ^r>' Ahreuhkwehte. 

Ujtl'r Strahkwe. 

-^>J / Under r-,,!^ -^i. i ,,- 

25S Within. Euhtohkenh'f 

5^^)?'^^^"^ Th'nehteh. 

Ifi? ?"•;•. Hohheh'n. 

262 InThetr"e Sto e keuh. 

^DO Un the table TVa l-nrai, v^i. i i i i 

9fifi Tr, +u I 1 ^ kwah roh kwab keb. 

26-! Nov "' °° >""> ,'-'■ ^'-h keuh'f. 

268 Neve;::;:;:;::;:::;:, f;™'>- 



269Bya„<iby....;:;:::;iT— -^^_^^ 



rub. 



No. 24.J 257 

270 One Euh die. 

271 Two Nakte. 

272 Three Ah sunk. 

273 Four Kunli toli. 

274 Five Wtesk. 

275 Six Ooh vok. 

276 Seven Che oh noh. 

277 Eight Nakreuh. 

278 Nine Ne reuh. 

279 Ten Wah tli'sunk. 

280 Eleven Euh die skah hah. 

281 Twelve Nah tih skah hah. 

282 Thirteen Ah sunk " " 

283 Fourteen Hunh toh " " 

284 Fifteen Weesk " " 

285 Sixteen Ooh yok " " 

286 Seventeen Ohc oh noh " " 

287 Eighteen Na kreuh " " 

288 Nineteen Ne reuh " " 

289 Twenty Na wah th'sunh. 

290 Thirty Ah sunh te wah th'sunk. 

291 Forty Hunh toh te " " 

292 Fifty Weest te " " 

293 Sixty Ooh yok te " " 

294 Seventy Che oh noh te " " 

295 Eicrhty Na kreuh te " " 

296 Ninety Ne reuh te " " 

297 One hundred Hah yok strc. 

298 Two hundred Nah kah " " 

299 One thousand Euh che oo yoh stre. 

300 Two thousand Nak tih " " " 

301 Ten thousand Wak th'sunk noh oo yoh stre. 

302 Ten million { Kah yoh sire te kah yoh stre nah oo. 

I Yoh stre keuh hoh nuh. 

303 To eat* Ah reuh chu reek. 

304 To drink Ah'r weh'r reuhk. 

305 To run Ah kah te ah sr'hink. 

306 To walk Ah reuh ra kwunk. 

307 To dance Nah reuh't t'kwunk. 

308 To laugh Ah kah yeuh skwak. 

309 To cry Nah reuh snah rahk. 

310 To burn Ya choh roh nah re hin. 

311 To love Ah kah no reuh kwunk. 

312 To go Nail reut tah hah kink. 

313 To strike Ah kah k. uh kwaii re t-s\nk. 

314 To kill Ah rah kwunk nahk. 

315 To sing Ah reuh uwunh a renhk. 

316 To sleep Ah kenht oo euhk. 



• If there it no infinitive, inierl the form, he e*t», kc. 

[Senate No. 24. j 33 



258 [Senate 

317 To die Ah wunh ha yeuhk. 

318 To speak Ah kah weh reuhk. 

319 To see Ah kah keuhk. 

320 To hear Ah kah koo hunh sh'henhk. 

321 To think Ah kah kah wunh te keuhnunh te 

enhk. 

322 To shout Ah kah koo hunh renhk. 

323 To advance Ah kah koo ra kwah nunhk 

324 To retreat Ah kah yenh swah nih. 

325 To give. Ah kah yenh nah nunh. 

326 To carry Ah kah hahk. 

327 To tie Ah kah treh'nk. 

328 Walking E weh, (he walks, &c.) 

329 Singing Roh uwunh a renk. 

330 Dancing Na nah t'kah. 

331 Crying Na rats nah. 

332 Man lives Euh queh, yah kenh hek 'gh. 

333 God exists Ya wunh ne yuh, yah kenh hek 'gh. 

334 Fishes swim Kenk chinh, keuh hoh nuk, wah nah 

wuhn's. 

335 Birds fly Che nunh, keuh hoh neuh, na yuh nunh 

hah n'yeh. 

336 A fish swims Skenh che aht, wah nah wuhn's. 

337 A bird flies Skah che nunh e'shrah. 

338 One man Enh che, a ne hah. 

339 Twenty men Na wah th'sunh, kah ya ne hah. 

340 A little man .... Renh thras s'tenh, a ne hah. 

341 A little dog A re's. 

342 A good man Renh kweh, strah kwah'st. 

343 A bad man Renh kweh, struh k'senh. 

344 A good bow Wah nali kwah'st. 

345 A bad bow Wah nah k'senh. 

346 Good Kah re whah ya nih. 

347 Evil Kah re whah k'senh. 

348 Blessedness Kah yenh wah nunk. 

349 Mankind Eh noo kenh'f. 

350 The world Wah'f nah kwa kenh. 

Note. — As the above is intended to be used merely for comparing 
one Iroquois dialect with another, I desire that our alphabet may be 
used with the common English powers. If not, and you use a par- 
ticular system, please to state what sounds it expresses. 

H. R. S. 

There is nothing answering to the infinitive and participle. I have 
therefore used the present indicative in the translation. I have divi- 
ded the words into syllables, whether they are simple or compound. 
Where two or more words occur in the translation of a phrase, I have 
separated them by a comma. I have used the English alphabet with 
natural powers so far as Tuscarcra sounds could be indicated by 
them. It is impossible to give, in many cases, a correct sound. A 



No. 24.] 269 

alone, has the sound of a in hatt-. Ah, like our interjecUon ah. 
The sound I intend to indicate by sunh, keuh, heuh, would be piTen, 
very nearly, by the Seneca alphabet ust-d by Mr. Wright, ihus : sah, 
kah, or koh, ha. The emphasis is,almo.st invariably, on ihe ptnulli- 
mate. Often a slight emphasis on some others. Thrre is aljio often 
a prolongation of sound nol indicated by any mark, a.s I .suppowrd 
you Avouhl not need it. 

I have not been able to finish this translation until now, (Oct. 20,) 
as I was abser.t, or otherwise engaged for some time after you bad 
left ; and when finally I was ready, Mr. Chew was not, until recently. 
I hope it has not been too long delayed. 

I received your letter from New-York, of Sept. IGth. Nicholas 
Cusick, the father of James ami David, was about 82 when he died. 
I have not been able to learn where he was born. He dnd at this 
place October, 1840. I do not know that there was anything very 
peculiar about him. lie never was a " priest or juggler in his earlier 
days," that I can learn. 

Yours, truly, 

GILBERT ROCK WOOD. 



Inquiries. 

There are several words in your vocabulary of the Tunrarora, in 
which the sound of F is used, always, however, as a terminal sound, 
as in " Eh noo keuh'f," mankind. 

Is this to be understood as denoting the ordinary sound of the 
letter 1 

Does it occur in other positions in words ? 

What is to be understood by the comma, which is invariably put 
before it ? 

If. K. S. 

Tuscarora jMission, Dec. G/A, 1845. 

Dear Sir — Your letter of December 1st is this day receired. 
In reference to the vocabulary of Indian words we furnished 
you, 1 have further to remark, that the laniruai;e having never 
been reduced to writing, each individual undertaking to reduce any 
portion of it, will have a system in part, ai least, of his own. I 
have tried three different ways myself. It is difficult, if not impo^^i- 
ble, to represent all the Tuscarora sounds by any corabinatinn of the 
English alphabet. I presume a stranger to the language would not, 
with the use of the vocabulary we have furnished you, give the cor- 
rect sound in many instances. 

The letter/ terminating a word, has the soun<l of f in chiff. I 
do not know as the comma before it, as in the word Eh noo keuh'f. 
is of any use. In common conversation, or at any time when the\ 
speak rapidly, the .sound of /is not distinguished, as a general thing 
Yet when ti.ey speak a word entire, there is this /" sound, ."lowly and 
distinctly ; it seems to be a distinct sound, or very nearly »o. It »p- 



260 [Senate 

pears to be a little separated from the main part of the syllable, as 
though another syllable was to follow immediately beginning with f ; 
but as soon as the sound of/, as in find, is given, the person stops 
short. Thus instead of Eh noo keuh find, (I use the English word/^td, 
because the power of/ in this word is the power of the letter in- 
tended in the Indian word given,) we say Eh noo keuhf, breaking off 
when you have given the sound of f, without proceeding to give the 
sound of ind. Perhaps if a comma is used at all, it would be more 
proper to place it after the/, thus : f ; or the/ might join the syl- 
lable, thus : Keuhf. 

I do not recollect that the sound of/ is heard in any other part of 
a word than as a terminating sound. 

Sometimes an r occurs separated, you will observe, by a comma 
from the rest of the syllable. It matters not much whether the r 
is joined to the preceding or following syllable. There is the sound 
of an r between them when the word is spoken. I have been puz- 
zled to know where to place it. It seems to answer either way. 
Thus, in the word for to-morrow : Euh yuh'r heuh ; or Euh yuh' 
rheuh. If joined to the syllable yuh, without being separated by the 
comma, you \vould pronounce it very nearly like the English word 
your. As it is, thus, yuh'r, its sound is very nearly like the English 
word use, and I am not sure but that would be a preferable way of 
writing it, thus : Euh use heuh ; yet there is a twirl or r sound you 
do not get as in the other mode of writing it. R terminating a word 
has much the same sound. 

Instead of using the vford find above, I might have used any other 
word beginning with f. It has its ordinary sound. 

Any other information you may wish, if in my power to give it, 
you may be free to ask. Yours, truly, 

G. ROCKWOOD. 



No. 24.] 261 



(I.) 

Letter from Rev. Ashi-r Bliss to Ilcnrv K S.imm.I- 

craft. 

Cuitaraugus JSIissiou, Sepf. •!//», lS-1.'). 
Dear Sir — Agreeably to your request 1 forward you some 
facts in regard to the establishment and progress of the j;osp»-l arm ri" 
the natives of this reservation. 'I'he Cattaraugus Mission Church \v.ts 
organized July 8th, 1827, (which is a little more than 18 y»-ar««.) 
It consisted of Mr. Wm. A. Thayer, the teacher, his wilV, ant! 12 
native members. There have been additions to it from time to time, 
until the whole number who have held a connection with this church 
is one hundred and eighteen. Thirteen of these have been white 
persons and most of them connected with the mission I'amily. Of 
the one hundred and five native members seven or eight liave come 
by letter from other reservations, so that the numbt-r who have united 
on profession of faith is a little short of one hundred. Twenty-fire 
of these have gone to their final account. Some have died in thr 
triumphs of faith, and we humbly hope and trust that they are amoni; 
the blessed, in the kingdom of our common Father. A number (a> 
it was natural to expect from converts out of heathenish darkness) 
have apostatized from Christianity, and returned to their former 
courses. The proportion of these is not probably more than one in 
ten. Between sixty and seventy are now connected with some of 
the mission churches. A few only have removed to Allegany, Tus- 
carora, while the remainder still live on this reservation. 

The effect ot the gospel in promoting morality and civilization, 
may be learned in part from the fact that the public worship of (Jod 
has been steadily maintaineil ever sinci- the organization of the 
church, with members ranging from fifty to one hundred, and some- 
times one hundred and fifty and two hundred as regular hearers of 
the word. A Sabbath school has been sustained a considerable share 
of the time. Many copies of the Holy Scriptures, and the New 
Testament, together with tracts, Sabbath school books, temperanr« 
papers, and religious periodical, have been circulated arnoni; the 
children and youth. Temperance societies have been patronized by 
nearly all the chiefs and leading men on the reservation. PIr •- 
have been circulated and received the signatures of a large maj..i.t\ 
of the population, of all parties, on the Washingtonian plan. 

Day schools for teaching the English language have been kept in 
operation almost without interruption for more than twenty ycar»^ 
under the patronage of the A. li. C. F. M. 

During the thirteen years that I have superintended these schools. 
nearly thirty different persons have engaged for a longer or shorter 



262 [Senate 

lime, as teachers. For the past year there have been four schools 
under the patronage of the American Board, and one under the Soci- 
ety of Friends. The whole number who have been instructed in the 
five schools is probably not far from one hundred and twenty-five. 
The attendance of a part has been very irregular, sometimes shifting 
from one school to another, and sometimes attending no school at all. 
Several of the early pupils in the mission schools are now heads of 
families, well informed, industrious, temperate and religious, and in 
good circumstances. Some are interpreters, some teachers of schools, 
and others engaged in transacting the business of the nation. 

You ran, sir, best judge of the influence of the gospel in promoting 
worldly prosperity, when you have fully completed the census which 
is now being taken. When you count up the framed houses and 
barns, the horses, cattle, sheep and hogs, the acres of improved land, 
with the wagons, buggies and sleighs, clocks and watches, and the 
various productions of agriculture, you can easily conceive the differ- 
ence between the present, and thirty years ago. I suppose there was 
not then a framed building of any description, and scarcely a log 
house, properly so called, no teams, no roads, no ploughed land, and 
but small patches of corn, beans and squashes. What an astonishing 
change ! 

As to the capacity of Indian children for improvement, my own 
impression is that there is no essential difference between them and 
white children. The fact that Indian children usually make slow 
progress in studying English books, can be accounted for in three 
ways : 1. They generally have little or no assistance from their 
parents at home. 2. They are irregular in their attendance on 
schools, for want of order and discipline on the part of parents. 
3. Being ignorant of the English language, it is a long time before 
they comprehend fully the instruction of their teachers. 

These circumstances operate to make the school room a very dull 
and uninteresting place to the scholar, and the reflex influence gives 
the scholar the same appearance. When they can once rise above 
these circumstances, and overcome these obstacles, they make good 
proficiency in their studies. 

Believing that these statements cover the ground of your inquiries, 
I subscribe myself, dear sir. 

Respectfully and truly yours, 

ASHER BLISS. 

P. S. Should you desire further information on any of these points, 
or upon others, which have been omitted, please state your questions 
definitely, in writing. Yours, &c., A. B. 



^o. 24.] 263 



( K. ) 

Letter fromKev. William Hall to Hcmv K .m-IiooI- 

cnil't. 

JUlegany Misiion^ Sept. S/A, 1S45. 

Dear Sir : — Your inquiries in relation to the state of relition, 
education, &c., among the Indians of this reservation, if I riyhtly 
understand them, are briefly answered as follows : 

Christianity very much prospered here during' the four years next 
precedinsi; the past. 

The number of church members durinir that period, was nearly 
tripled, and very encouraging additions were made to their know- 
ledoe and zeal. But the past year has been one of stupidity and 
drought. 

There has, however, been four additions from the Indians, made to 
the church, by profession of faith, and two whites. 

The present number of Indian members is about one hundreij and 
fifteen. Tiie number of whites is eight. Seven of the Indian mem- 
bers are under censure. 

I have sustained three schools during the past summer, in which 
about eighty Indian children have been more or less taui;ht. On*' of 
these schools, whose whole number is only about thirty, gives an 
average attendance of nearly twenty-five. In this neii^hborlinod the 
population is sufficiently compact for a farming community, anil the 
younger parents arc partially educated. 

In the other neighborhoods, the population is very sparse, and the 
parents very ignorant. The consequence is, that the daily attendance 
falls short of one half the whole number of s«'holars, and cannot be 
called regular at that. Many do not get to st hool earlier than half 
past eleven, and very few earlier than ten, and half past ten. Those* 
who attend regularly, evince a capacity to acquire knowledge, e()ual- 
ing the whites, and one of our schools will sutler nothing, in » .»nj- 
parison with common country schools. 

I am, dear sir, 

Yours &.C., 

WILLIAM H \LL 



264 [Senate 



(L.) 

Letter from Rev. VVm. McMurray to H. H. School- 
craft. 

Dundas, JYovemher 11th, 1845. 
My dear Sir — I have just received the vocabularies, with the In- 
dian words, frora the Rev. Adam Elliot, of Tuscarora, to whom I 
sent them for the translation. The cause of the delay was his severe 
illness, and the difficulty of getting suitable persons to give him the 
Indian. He says, before you publish, if you will send him, through 
me, the proof sheets, he will have them corrected for you, and for- 
warded without delay. He is an amiable and most excellent man. 

Yours, most faithfully, 

WILLIAM McMURRAY. 



Mohawk. 



1 God Niyoh 

2 Devil Onesohrono 

3 Man Rongwe 

4 Woman Yongwe 

5 Boy Raxaa 

6 Girl Kaxaa 

7 Child Exaa 

8 Infant Owiraa 

9 Father (my) Rakeniha 

10 Mother " Isteaha 

11 Husband " Teyakenitero 

12 Wife " Teyakenitero 

13 Son " lyeaha 

14 Daughter " Keyeaha 

15 Brother " Akyatatekeaha 

16 Sister " Akyatatoseaha 

17 An Indian Ongwehowe 

18 Head Onontsi 

19 Hair Ononkwis 

20 Face Okonsa 

2 1 Scalp Onora 

22 Ear Ohonta 

23 Eye Okara 

24 Nose Onyohsa 

25 Mouth Jirasakaronte 

26 Tongue Aweanaehsa 



No. 24.] 265 

27 Tooth Onawi 

28 Beard Okcastcara 

29 Neck Onyara 

30 Arm Onnnisa 

31 Shoulder Oi^rhmahsa 

32 Back Oi;;hnagea 

33 Hand Osnosa 

34 Finger Osnosa 

35 Nail Ojiera 

36 Breast Aonskwena 

37 Body Oyerniita 

38 Leg Oghsina 

39 Navel Oneritsta 

40 Thigh Oghnitsa 

41 Knee Okwitsa 

42 Foot Oghsita 

43 Toe Oghyakwe 

44 Heel Orata 

45 Bone Ostiea 

46 Heart Aweri 

47 Liver Otweahsa 

48 Windpipe Ratoryehta 

49 Stomach Onekcreanta 

50 Bladder Oninheaghhata 

51 Blood Oncgweasa 

52 Vein Oginoliyaghtough 

53 Sinew Oginoliyaghtough 

54 Flesh Owarough 

55 Skin Oghna 

66 Seat • Onitskwara 

57 Ankle Osinegota 

58 Town -Kanala 

59 House Kanosa 

60 Door Kanhoha 

61 Lodge Teyetasta 

62 Chief Rakowana 

63 Warrior Roskeahragehte 

64 Friend Alcatosera 

65 Enemy Shagoswease 

66 Kettle Onta 

67 Arrow Kayonkwere 

68 Bow Aeana 

69 War club Yeanteriyohta kanyoh 

70 Spear ^ Aghsikwe 

71 Axe • Atokca 

72 Gun Kauhore 

73 Knife Asare 

74 Flint Kahnhia 

75 Boat Kahoweya 

76 Ship Kahoweyakowa 

[Senate, No. 24.J 34 



^66 [S£NATE 



77 Shoe 'Aghta 

78 Legging Karis 

79 Coat Atyatawit 

80 Shirt Onyataraa atyatawit 

81 Breechcloth Kakare 

82 Sash Atyatanha 

83 Head dress Onowarori 

84 Pipe Kanonawea 

85 Wampum Onegorha 

86 Tobacco Oyeangwa 

87 Sky Otshata 

88 Heaven Karonghyage 

89 Sun Karaghkwa 

90 Moon Eghnita 

91 Star Ogistok 

92 Day Eghnisera 

93 Night Aghseanteane 

94 Light Teyoswathe 

95 Darkness Tyokaras 

96 Morning Ohrhonkene 

97 Evening Yokoraskha 

98 Spring Keankwetene 

99 Summer Akeanhage 

100 Autumn Kanonage 

101 Winter Koffhserage 

102 Wind Owera 

103 Lightning Teweanerekarawas 

104 Thunder Kaweras 

105 Rain Yokeanorough 

106 Snow Oniyehte 

107 Hail ^ . Yoisontie 

108 Fire Yotekha 

109 Water Oghnekanos 

110 Ice Oise 

1 1 1 Earth : land Owhensia 

112 Sea Kanyaterakekowa 

113 Lake Kanyatare 

1 14 River Kaihoghha 

115 Spring Yohnawcronte 

116 Stream Yohyohonto 

117 Valley Teyohrowe 

118 Hill Yononte 

119 Mountain Yonontekowa 

120 Plain Kaheanta 

121 Forest Karhago 

122 Meadow Yeheantyakta 

123 Bog Yonanawea 

124 Island Kawenote 

125 Stone Oneaya 

126 Rock Otsteara 



No. 24.] 267 

127 Silver Karistanoro 

128 Copper Oginigwar karistaji 

129 Iron Ka^i^•taJi 

130 Lead Kawistanawis 

131 Maize Oneasti 

132 Wheat Eanek.ri 

133 Oats Yoiiohonte 

134 Potatoe Ot;hneanata 

135 Turnep ( )jik\va 

136 Tree Kherhite 

137 Wood Oyeanle 

138 Pine Oahnchta 

139 Oak Tokcaha 

140 Ash Kirhsa 

141 Elm Akaraji 

142 Basswood Ohoscra 

143 Shrub Nikakwerasa 

144 Leaf Oneraghte 

145 Bark Owajiste 

i46 Grass Ohonte 

147 Nettle Ohrhes 

148 Weed Kahontaxa 

149 Flower Ojijia 

150 Bread Kanatarok 

151 Indian meal Oneasti othesera 

152 Flour Othesera 

153 Meat Owarough 

154 Fat * Yoresea 

155 Beaver Jonitough 

156 Deer Oskoneantea 

157 Bison 

158 Bear Oghkwari 

159 Otter Tawine 

160 Fox Jilsho 

161 Wolf Okwaho 

162 Dog Ehrhar 

163 Squin el : Arosea 

164 Hare Tahontanegea 

165 Lynx 

166 Panther 

167 Muskrat Anokyea 

168 Polecat Takoskowa 

169 Hog Kwiskwis 

170 Horse Yagosateas 

171 Cow Canonta 

172 Sheep Teyotinakarontoha 

173 Turtle Anowara 

174 Toad Jighnanatak 

175 Insect Otsenown 

176 Snake Onyare 



26S [Sena 



in 



^'J'? Bird , Jiteaha 

178 Egg Onhonsa 

179 Feather Ostosera 

180 Claw „ . . -Otjiera 

151 Beak , , Ojikeweyeanta 

152 Wing ^Oweya 

183 Goose , . Onasakeara 

184 Partridge Oghkwesea 

185 Duck Sora 

186 Pigeon Orite 

IS? Plover 

188 Turkey , . Skawerowane 

189 Crow , Jokawe 

190 Robin Jiskoko 

191 Eagle , Oteanyea 

192 Hawk _ Karhalcoha 

193 Snipe Tawistawis 

194 Owl Ohowa 

19o Woodpecker Kwarare 

196 Fish Keantsiea 

III J'""* "• Tyotyaktea 

198 Bass Ojikakwara 

199 Pike Jikonsis 

200 Sturgeon Nikeanjiakowa 

fj, 5,""fi^h Karaghkwakeanjiea 

202 Fin Odare 

203 Scale , Oista 

204 White ;;;;;. Kearakea 

205 Black _ Kahonii 

f'lf Onegv4ntara 

20' Blue Oronya 

lall'^^'''^ Oginigwur 

209 Green Ohonte 

^}?^^^^! Kowanea 

211 Small jy^i,,.aa 

^?? ?,^,^°"g Xashatste 

l]2n^?^ Yoyatakeaheyea 

Hi ,™ Oksteaha ' 

^J^ XT^ Nityoyeaba 

^?^^f ....Yo/a^re 

l]ll^'^\ Wahetkea 

^io Handsome Yorase 

llllfy .*.'; Wah;tkea 

220 Ahve Yonhe 

III ?.^/^' Yaweahevea 

222 Life Yonhe 

223 Death Keaheyea 

22^ Cold Y.tor/ 

i^«°* Yotarihea 

226 Sour Teyohyojis 



No. 24.J 269 

227 Sweet Yawelo 

228 Bitter Yotskara 

229 I lih 

230 Thou Ise 

231 lie KiK.nha 

232 She \onha 

233 They . Konmiha 

234 You, Ye Jiyoha 

235 We Onkyoha 

236 This Keaikea 

237 That Toikia 

238 All Auwfgon 

239 Part Oiyake 

240 Who Oi.'ka 

241 Near Niyorea 

242 Far off Ino 

243 To-day Keawcante 

244 Yesterday Teteare 

245 To-morrow Eayhorheane 

246 By and hy Owagehaseaha 

247 Yes Ea 

248 No Yahtea 

249 Perhaps Tokul 

250 Above Enegea 

25 1 Under Onagon 

252 Within • Onagounonga 

253 Without Atstenongali 

254 On . Ethogh 

255 Something Onheno 

256 Nothing Yaghotiieno 

257 One Easka 

258 Two Tekeni 

259 Three Aglisea 

260 Four Kieri 

261 Five Wisk 

262 Six Yayak 

263 Seven Jatak 

264 Eight Satego 

265 Nine Tiyohto 

266 Ten Oytri 

267 Eleven E.iskayaweare 

268 Twelve Tekniyaweare 

269 Tiiirteen Aghseayaweare 

270 Fourteen Kaiyeriyaweare 

271 Fifteen Wiskyaweare 

272 Sixteen Yayakyaweare 

273 Seventeen Jatakyaweare 

274 Eighteen Sategoyaweare 

275 Nineteen Tiyohtoyaweare 

276 Twenty Tewasea 

277 Thirty Aghseaniwaghsea 



270 [Senate 

278 Forty Kaieriniwaghsea' 

279 Fifty Wiskniwaghsea 

£80 Sixty Yayakniwaghsea 

231 Seventy Jatakniwaghsea 

282 Eighty Sategoniwaghsea 

283 Ninety Tiyohtoniwaghsea 

284 One hundred Easkateweanyawe 

285 Two hundred Tekeniteweanyawe 

286 One thousand Oyeriteweanyawe 

287 Two thousand Teweayawe eghtseraghsea 

288 One million 

289 To eat* Teayontskahou 

290 To drink Eayehnekira 

29 1 To run Teay oraghtate 

292 To walk Eayonteanti 

293 To dance Teayenonyakwe 

294 To Fly Teankatea 

295 To laugh Eayakoyeshough 

296 To cry Teayoseanthough 

297 To burn Eawatsha 

298 To love Eayontatenoronkwe 

299 To go Eayonteanti 

300 To strike Eayeyeanti 

301 To kill Eayontateriyo 

302 To sing Eayontereanotea 

303 To sleep Eayakotawe 

304 To speak Eayontati 

305 To die Eayaighheye 

306 To see Eayontkaghtho 

307 To hear Eayoronkhe 

308 To think Eayonontonyeawe 

309 War cry Waontskwararonyea 

310 Retreat cry Tontatsyatonek 

311 To give Eayontatea 

312 To carry Eayehhawe 

313 To tie Eayenereanke 

214 Walking Yagohteantyohatyea 

215 Singing Yereanote 

216 Dancing Teyakononyakwea 

217 Crying Teyoseanthous 

218 To be, or exist Eghnoyotea 

^ 219 He is Raonhase 

3220 I am lighse. 

If there is no infinitive, insert verbs in their original form, as. He eats, &c. 



No. 24.J 271 

Cayuga. 

1 God Niyoh 

2 Devil Onesoono 

3 Man Najina 

4 Woman Konheghtie 

5 Boy Aksaa 

6 Girl Exaa 

7 Child Exaa 

8 Infant Onoskwataa 

9 Father (my) Hiani 

10 Mother " Iknoha 

11 Husband " lonkniniago 

12 Wile '' longiahisko 

13 Son " Ihihawog 

14 Daughter " Ikhehawog 

15 Brother " Itt-kyatchnonte 

16 Sister " Kekeaha 

17 An Indian Ongwehowe 

18 Head Onowaa 

19 Hair Ononkia 

20 Face Okonsa 

21 Scalp Onoha 

22 Ear Honta 

23 Eye Okaghha 

24 Nose Onyohsia 

25 Mouth Sishakaent 

26 Tongue Aweanaghsa 

27 Tooth Onojia 

28 Beard Okosleaa 

29 Neck Onyaa 

30 Arm Oneantsa 

31 Shoulder Oghnesia 

32 Back Eshoghne 

33 Hand tishoghtage 

34 Finger Onia 

35 Nail Ojeighta 

36 Breast Oahsia 

37 Body Oyeonta 

38 Leg Oghsena 

29 Navel Kotshetot 

40 Thigh Onhoska 

4 1 Knee Okontsha 

42 Foot Oshita 

43 Toe Oghyakwea 

44 Heel lyatage 

45 Bone ()stienda 

46 Heart Kawiaghsa 

47 Liver Gotwesia 

48 Windpipe Ohowa 

49 Stomach Onekreanda 



2^2 [Senate 



50 Bladder Onheha 

^1 ^^ood Otgweasa 

52 Vein Ojinohyada 

53 Sinew Ojinohyada 

54 Flesh Owaho 

55 Skin Ogoneghwa 

56 Seat Ondiadakwa 

5^ Ankle Ojihougwa 

5S Town Kanatae 

59 House Kanosiod 

60 Door Kanhoha 

61 Lodge Teyetasta 

II S'^^f. Aghseanewane 

63 Warrior Osgeagehta 

64 Friend Aterotsera 

65 Enemy Ondateswaes 

66 Kettle Kanadsia 

67 Arrow Ka„oh 

68 Bow Adota 

69 War Club Kajihwaodriohta 

'0 ^P^ar Kaghsigwa 

■^1 Axe Atokea 

''2 Gun Kaota 

'^3 Knife Kainatra 

;? J^i"t AtrFkwenda 

'» ^oat Kaowa 

l^ ^J^iP Kaowagowa 

'' f^o^• Ataghkwa 

7b Legging K^isra 

RO ok! Atyatawitra 

°? ?,'^^^t Nikaheha 

81 Breechcloth Katrotaa 

°? '^''^- Teatniagwistrista 

83 Headdress Tiodnaawonhasta 

°? f.lP^ Atsiokwaghta 

8o Wampum otkoa 

°? J°^^^^° Oyeangwa 

f^^y Otshata 

11^'''''''' Kaohyage 

^^^"" Kaaghkta 

pV i7°" Soheghkakaaghkwa 

^i 5,^" Ojishonda 

^?4X C^iisrate 

^^,%ht Asohe 

^^^.ght Tevohate 

^^{l^^k"^^^ Tifotasontage 

^^^^'•"/"g Sedetsiha ^ 

^^ Evening Okaasa 

fal^''''^ Kagwetijiha 

^^^^^^-^r Kakenhage 



No. 24.] 273 

100 Autumn Kaivmafrcne 

101 Winter Kohsrej^lme 

102 Wind Kawnondts 

103 Lightning Teweanilios 

104 Thunder Kaweanotalias 

105 Rain Ostaonchon 

106 Snow Onieye 

107 Hail Oidriondio 

108 Fire Ojista 

109 Water Onikanos 

110 Ice Oitre 

111 Earth— Land Otanja 

112 Sea Kanyateowaneghno 

113 Lake Kanyataeni 

114 River Kihade 

115 Spring Oghnawaot 

116 Stream Oghyeanto 

117 Valley Teyostowento 

118 Hill Onontae 

119 Alountain (^nontowanea 

120 Plain Kahearitae 

121 Forest Kahago 

122 Meadow Ustomhiakla 

123 Bog Owcanjanawe 

124 Island ... Kawegimnd 

125 Stone Kaskwa 

126 Rock Osteaha 

127 Silver Kawistanoo 

128 Copper Ogwenida 

129 Iron Kaniawasa 

130 Lead Kanikanawis 

131 Maize Oneha 

132 Wheat Onajia 

133 Oats Oats 

134 Polatoe On?.ta 

135 Turnip Okteha 

136 Tree Krael 

137 Wood Oyeanda 

138 Pine Ostaa 

139 Oak Kakata 

140 Ash Kalioweya 

141 Elm Oshkra ' 

142 Basswood Ohotra 

143 Shrub Ohond.i 

144 Leaf Ourawhta 

145 Bark Owajista 

146 Grass < )wenoghkra 

147 Nettle Owhesra 

148 Weed Owenokrasod 

149 Flower Oweha 

[Senate, No. 24. 1 35 



274 [Senate 



150 Bread Onada 

151 Indian Meal Oneha otetra 

152 Flour Otetra 

153 Meat , Owahon 

154 Fat Osea 

155 Beaver Akaniago 

156 Deer Wahontes 

157 Bison 

158 Bear Yekwai 

159 Otter Jutedro 

160 Fox Ishaie 

161 Wolf Tahioni 

162 Dog Shoas 

163 Squirrel Joniskro 

164 Hare Toutaend 

165 Lynx 

166 Panther 

167 Muskrat. Te out 

168 Polecat Kanewageha 

169 Hog Kwiskwis 

170 Horse Kaondanenkwi 

171 Cow Tidoskwaout 

172 Sheep Teyodinekaondoa 

173 Turtle Kaniaghtengowa 

174 Toad Naskwagaonta 

175 Insect Otsinowa 

176 Snake Osaista 

177 Bird Jiteae 

178 Egg Onhosia 

179 Feather Ostotra 

180 Claw Otsiouhta 

181 Beak Kaniantasa 

182 Wing Kawaontes 

183 Goose Honkak 

184 Patridge Kawesea 

185 Duck Oheao 

286 Pigeon Jakowa 

187 Plover 

188 Turkey Sohout 

180 Crow Kaghka 

190 Robin... Jiskoko 

191 Eagle Nataongowa 

192 Hawk Tekayatakwa 

193 Snipe Tawistewi 

194 Owl Owa 

195 Woodpecker Kwaa 

196 Fish Otsionda 

197 Trout Tiadatsea 

198 Bass Onoksa 

199 Pike Jikonsis 



No- 24.] 275 

200 Sturgeon Kajhista 

201 Sunfish ( )a^ihk\vaonio 

202 Fin Owaia 

203 Scale Otsia 

204 White Ktaankca 

205 Black Swcandaea 

206 Roil Oikwcnjia 

207 Blue Drinaea 

208 Yellow litkwa 

209 Creen Drahlaea 

210 Great Kowanea 

211 Small Niwaa 

212 Strong Kashatste 

213 Weak Oyatakeahcyo 

214 01(1 Ostea 

215 Young Ongwelasea 

216 Good Oyanri 

217 Bad Waetgea 

218 Handsome (\yanri 

219 Ugly Waetkea 

220 Alive Onhe 

221 Dead Awealieyea 

222 Life Onhe 

223 Death Keaheyea 

224 Cold Otowi 

225 Hot Otaiho 

226 Sour Ttyohyojis 

227 Sweet Okao 

228 Bitter Odjiwagea 

229 T I 

230 Thou Ise 

231 He Aoha 

232 She Kaoha 

233 They Onoha 

234 You Ye Johha 

235 We Oukyoha 

236 This Neangea 

237 That Shigea 

238 All Gwegon 

239 Part Tewadislo 

240 W^ho Sonaoi 

241 Near Niyoea 

242 Far otr Ino 

243 To-dav Wanewanisade 

244 Yesterday Tedea 

245 To-morow lyohea 

246 By and by Swegeha 

247 Yes Kghea 

248 No Teah 

249 Perhaps Tokatgisa 



276 (Senate 

250 Above Hetgea 

251 Under Nagon 

252 Within Nagongwadi 

253 Without Atstegwadi 

254 On Ethogh 

255 Something Tikaweaniyoh 

256 Nothing Teaskoutea 

257 One Skat 

258 Two Tekni 

259 Three Segh 

260 Four Kei 

261 Five Wis 

262 Six Yei 

263 Seven Jatak 

264 Eight Tekro 

265 Kme Tyohto 

266 Ten Waghsea 

267 Eleven Skatskaie 

268 Twelve Tekniskaie 

269 Thiiteen Aghseghskaie 

270 Fourteen Keiskaie 

271 Fifteen Wiskaie 

272 Sixteen Yeiskaie 

273 Seventeen , . Jatakskaie 

274 Eighteen Tikroskaie 

275 Nineteen Tyohtoskaie 

276 Twenty Tewaghsea 

277 Thirty Seniwaghsea 

278 Forty Keiniwaghsea 

279 Fifty Wisniwaghsea 

280 Sixty >■ . ... Yeiniwaghsea 

281 Seventy Jatakniwaghsea 

282 Eighty Tekroniwagshea 

283 Ninety Tyohtoniwagshea 

284 One hundred Skateweaniawe 

285 Two hundred Tekniteweaniawe 

286 One thousand Waghseanateweaniawe 

287 Two thousand Teweaniaweetsaghsea 

288 One million 

289 To eat Eyondikoni 

290 To drink , Eyehnikiha 

291 To run Tesental 

292 To walk Eyohteanti 

293 To dance Teyontkwa 

294 To fly Teankate 

295 To laugh lyakoyonde 

296 To cry Teyoseanthou 

297 To burn Ewatsia 

298 To love Teyondatnoonk 

299 To go Eyonteandi 



No. 24.] 277 

300 To stride Eyegoheg 

301 To kill Kyondalri} 

302 To sing Eyontreanote 

303 To sleep Jakota 

304 To speak Tycfjhtaea 

305 To die lyaihhe 

306 To see lyoiitk.iixhto 

307 To hear Ayohoiik 

308 To think* Ayonontonio 

309 War cry Yontskwaeonio 

310 Retreat cry Jatego 

311 To give Eayontatea 

312 To carry Eyeha 

313 To tie Ayeshaondak 

314 Walking Goghtcandiahandia 

315 Singing Eeanot 

316 Dancing Teyagolkwea 

317 Crying Teyoseantwas 

318 To be, or exist Nelhonanyohtohaag 

319 He is Aohase 

320 I am li 

•If there is no infinitive, insert verbs in their simplest concrete form, i. e., indicative 
moodj present tense, first person, singular, as, he thinks, &c. 



278 [Senate 



(M.) 

Letter from Mr. Richard U. Shearman to Henry R. 

Schoolcraft. 

Vernon, October 4.fk, 3845. 

Sir : I completed the enumeration of the Oneida Indians some 
days ago, but delayed sending a return to you to ascertain the Indian 
names. It doubtless contains all the information you require at this 
particular time. Several families are included in the marshal's enu- 
meration of the inhabitants of the town of Vernon. The remainder 
reside in Madison county. 

The houses of these Indians are generally much better than the log 
houses of the whites, being constructed of hewn, even jointed logs, 
with shingle roofs and good windows. There are three good frame 
houses belonging to them ; — one of these is a very handsome ont, 
belonging to Skenado. I noticed in it some tasty fringed window 
curtains and good carpets. The Indians whom you met at Oneida 
were the flower of the tribe, being mostly farmers, who raise a sufh- 
ciency of produce for their comfortable support. There are several 
heads of families in my list, w^ho cultivate no land of their own, but 
gain a subsistence by chopping wood and performing farm labor for 
others. 

The whole number of families, I make, as you will perceive, 31. 
The w^hole number of houses I believe is but 2S, but in each of these 
houses I found two families. The number of persons is 157. The 
count of last winter, which made 180 souls, was made with reference 
to retaining a certain amount of missionary funds, and Mr. Stafford, 
the Indian attorney, tells me it was made too high. Skenado says 
the tribe in this State numbers just 200 souls, of whom 40 are with 
the Onondagas. 

Vernon, December 16?A, 1845. 
" I have filled up your Indian vocabulary to-day. I wrote down 
the words as they w'ere given to me by one Johnson, a pretty intelli- 
gent man, who sometimes acts as interpreter. My orthography may 
be somewhat at fault, owing to my limited knowledge of the Indian 
manner of sounding the letters of the English alphabet. In general, 
I have endeavored to spell the words according to their sound in 
English, though the letter a is used often as in the English, and often 
to express the sound of ah ! With this exception, and the use of 
horiy han and hun, to express a sound of which nothing in the Eng- 
lish can convey an accurate impression, the spelling accords with the 



No. 24.] -279 

pronunciation. The Indian from whom I obtained tlie information 
informs me he knows of no words in his language to express such 
large numbers as thousands and millions. I have, therefore, in the 
cases of those numbers, filled the blanks with the Indian for ten hun- 
dred and ten hundred thousand ; tliat is, in the latter case, ten hun- 
dred ten hundreds. 

•' I hope the table will be satisfactory, and that it may be of aiil to 
you in making the comparison between the languages whiih you 
<^esire. 

" Believe me, your friend, Sec. 

"RiciiAKD u. siii:arman." 

Oneida. 
223 

224 Alive Loon ha. 

225 Dead La wan ha yun. 

226 Life Yun ha. 

227 Death Ya wu ha yah. 

228 Cold Yut ho lah. 

229 Hot Yu ta le han. 

J 30 Sour Ta yo yo gis. 

231 Sweet Ya wa gon. 

232 Bitter Yut ska^'lot. 

233 I Ke. 

234 Thou Eesa. 

He she. 

235 He or she f.a oon ha — a oon h;i. 

236 We Tat ne jah loo 

237 You Eesa. 

238 They Lo no hah. 

239 This K;di e kah. 

240 That To e kuh. 

241 All A qua kon. 

242 Part Ta kah ha sioun. 

243 Many A so. 

244 Who Hon ka. 

245 Near Ac tah. 

246 Far-ofF K non. 

247 To-day Ka wan da. 

248 Yesterday Ta tan. 

249 To-morrow A yul ha na. 

250 Yes Ha. 

251 No Y;di ten. 

252 Perhaps To ga no nab. 

253 Above A nah kan. 

254 Wonder An ta ka. 

255 Within Na gon. 

£56 Without Ats ta. 

257 On Ka ha le. 



280 [Senate 

258 Something Ot hok no ho ta. 

259 Nothing Ya ha ta non. 

260 One Ans cot. 

261 Two , Da ga nee. 

262 Three Ha son. 

263 Four Ki ya lee. 

264 Five Wisk. 

265 Six Yah yak. 

266 Seven Ja dak. 

267 Eight Ta ka Ion. 

268 Nine Wa tlon. 

269 Ten O ya lee. 

270 Eleven Ans cot ya wa la. 

271 Twelve Da ga na ya wa la. 

272 Thirteen Ha son ya wa la. 

273 Fourteen Ki ya lu ya wa la. 

274 Fifteen Wisk ya wa la. 

275 Sixteen Ya yah ya wa la. 

276 Seventeen Ja dak ya wa la. 

277 Eighteen Ta ka Ion ya wa la. 

278 Nineteen Wa tlon ya wa la. 

279 Twenty Ta was hon. 

280 Thirty Ha son ne was hon. 

281 Forty Ki ya lu ne was. 

282 Fifty Wisk ne was. 

283 Sixty Yah yak ne was. 

283 Seventy Ja dak ne was. 

284 Eighty Ta ka Ion ne was. 

.285 Ninety .... Wa tlon ne was 

286 One hundred Ans cot ta wa ne a wa. 

287 Two hundred Da ga na ta wa ne a wa. 

288 One thousand O ya lee ta wa ne a wa. 

289 Two thousand Ta was ha ta wa ne a wa. 

290 Million O ya lu ta wa ne a wa-o ya lee ta 

wa ne a wa. 

291 To eat Yon take hon ne. 

29-2 To drink Yah na kee lah. 

293 To run Yah dak ha. 

294 

295 To walk Ee vun. 

296 

297 To dance Ta yunt qua. 

298 To laugh Yah go yas hon. 

299 To cry Da yon unt os. 

300 To burn TJ dek ha. 

301 To love Ee no Ion qua. 

302 To go Wa hon ta de. 

303 To strike Wa a gon lek. 

304 To kill Wa gon wa lew. 



, No. 24. j 281 

305 To sing K;i Ion no ta. 

306 To sleep Ya go tas. 

307 To die Wa a ee ha ya. 

308 To sit Ya (lay Ion. 

309 To speak Ya god ha la. 

410 To see \Va out kot. 

311 To hear Yah got hon day. 

312 To think Yonnon ton nion ha. 

313 To shout Tay ya go hon let. 

314 The war cry At lee yos la tay ya go hon let. 

315 To shout Ta ya go hon let. 

316 The retreat Wa ha day go. 

317 To give Wa han da don. 

31S To carry Yay ha we. 

319 To tie Ka warn. 

320 Walking Ee yen. 

321 Singing Ka Ion no ta. 

322 Dancing Ta hat qua. 

323 Crying Das yon unt os. 

324 To exist Ya gon ha. 

325 I am E gon ha. 

The preceding part of this vocabulary, taken by myself, together 
with the entire vocabularies of the Onondaga and the Seneca, which 
are necessary to render the comparison complete, are omitted. 



[Senate, No. 24.] 36 



282 [Senate 



(N.) 

Letter from Mr. D. E. Walker to Henry R, School- 
craft. 

Batavia, July 26?A, 1845. 

Mr. Schoolcraft : I have visited the mound on Dr. Noltan's 
farm. Nothing of great importance can be learned from it. I 
should think it about fifty rods from the creek, and elevated, perhaps, 
some eight feet above the general level of the ground. 

A similar one is also found about two miles south of this, and, as 
is this, it is on liigh ground, of circular form, and with a radius of 
about one rod. They were discovered about thirtv or thirty-five 
years since. Nothing has been found in them, save human bones. 
The first, some nine or ten years since, was nearly all ploughed up 
and scraped into the road. 

It is said that "sculls, arms and legs were seen on fences, stumps 
and the high- way for a long time after they were drawn into the 
road." 

On, some t'vo miles bejond the second was discovered a burial- 
ground. At that place were ploughed up shell, bone, or quill-beads. 
Near this place was found a brown earthen pot, standing between the 
roots of a large tree, (maple, they think) and with a small sapling 
grown in it, to some six inches in diameter. Beads of shell, bone or 
porcujiine quills have often been found, I would have remarked, 
that on the first mound stood a hickory-tree some two feet through. 
There is also a ridge at the termination of high ground ; I say a ridge, 
it appeared to me to be a regular fortification. It is, I should judge 
from thirty to forty feet in length. It would appear that the ground 
was dug down from some (Kstance back, and wheeled to the termina- 
tion of high ground, until a bank is thrown up to a height of some 
fifteen or twenty feet. This ridge, some think to be natural ; others, from 
the fact that a smooth stone, about the size and shape of a pestle, was 
found in it, think it to be artificial. Perhaps other relics may have 
been found in it that would show it to be an artificial formation. All 
I could learn (and I rode about seven miles out of my way to con- 
verse with an old inhabitant) was, that this pestle was found in 
the ridge, and within three or four feet of its surface. 

We may, perhaps, infer something from the size of an underjaw 
found here, which is said to have been so large as to much more than 
equal that of the largest face in the country. 

Respectfully, 

D. E. WALKER. 



No. 24. j S8S 



(O.) 

Letter from H. C. Van Schaack, Esq. to Henry R. 

Schoolcraft. 

Manlius, July ISM, 1845. 

Dear Sir ; Yours of yesterday from Jamesville is received. Its 
enclosure is the first intimation I have of having been chosen a cor- 
responding member of the N. Y. Historical Society. I shall be hap- 
py to advance tiie objects of the Society. 

I regret that you have not found it convenint to call, I hope you 
■will still conclude to come. In the interim, I am convinced that Mr. 
C. can advance your objects better than I can ; he has read several 
addresses on these subjects before the Literary Associations here and 
at Syracuse within two years past. 

I have a collection of interesting papers (found among my father's 
papers at Kinderhook) relating chiefly to Indian affairs during the 
first half of the last century in the colony of New-York. These I am 
arranging, at my leisure, for the purpose of presentation to the N. Y. 
H. Society. I hope also to be able to send some papers of my father's 
which will advance the object of the society in rescuing the Indian 
names on the east banks of the Hudson from oblivion, ami which last 
I had intended to forward to the Society through you. But I must 
take my time to effect those objects. 

Excuse the haste with which this letter is written, as I have only 
this moment received your letter, and I do not wish to lose a mail. 

Respectfully yours. 

Manlius, Kov. 22nd^ 1845. 
Dear Sir : I forwarded to Mr. Gibbs, the librarian, a few days 
ago a volume containing various MSS. selected from my fathers pa- 
pers, relating chiefly to our aboriginal history, aiul about which 
I wrote you some time ago. You will find among them the journal 
of Conrad Weiser, Indian interpreter, giving an account of a visit to 
the Six Nations in 1745, at which time he accompanied the Senecas 
to Oswego, on their way to pay a visit to the Governor of Canada. 
You will also find among the papers, the original minutes of the 
Grand Council at Albany, in 1745, at which were present commis- 
sioners from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New- 
York, with Governors from several of those States and the Sachems 
of the Six Nations, I think you will be interestetl in some cf the 
papers. When I visit Kinderhook again, I hope to be able to make 
some additions to the contribution I have made to tiie Society. Many 
of the old pnpers relating to land trials, contain matter throwing 
light upon Indian names of objects and places. I, however, despair 
of ever seeing anything like a completeness of that description. 

Respectfully yours, 

H. C. VAN SCHAACK. 



284 [Senate 



(P ) 

Letter from L. T. Morgan, Esq., to H. R. School- 
craft. 

Rochester^ October 7, 1845. 

Sir — You have doubtless seen a notice of the great council of the 
Six Nations, recently held at Tonawanda. We call it great, because 
we never saw any thing of the kind before, and perhaps never will 
again. Three of us started in season, and spent the whole of last 
week in attendance, and weie also joined by Mr. Hurd, a delegate 
from Cayuga. We were there before the council opened, and left 
after the fire was raked up. Our budget of information is large, and 
overthrows some of our past knowledge, and on the whole, enlarges 
our ideas of the vastness and complexity of this Indian fabric. We 
are a great way from the bottom yet ; we may never reach it, but 
what we do bring up to the surface, remunerates richly for the 
search. 

We learn that at the establishment of the confederacy, fifty sachem- 
ships were founded, and a name assigned to each, which they are still 
known by, and which names every sachem of the several sachemdoms, 
from the beginning to the present time, has borne. There were also 
fifty sub-sacherns, or aids ; that is, to every sachem was given a sub- 
sachem to stand behind him — in a word, to do his bidding. These 
sachemships are still confined to the five nations ; the Tuscaroras 
were never permitted to have any. They are unequally divided 
among the five nations, the Onondagas having as many as four- 
teen. The eisht original tribes or families still hokl to be cor- 
rect, as we had it, but each tribe did not have a sachem. In some of 
the tribes were two or three, in others none. As the English would 
say the Howard family had a peerage in it, so would the Indians say 
that a certain tribe or clan had one or two or no sachemships running 
in it. The idea seems to be that the sachem did not preside over a 
tribe, as that would leave some tribes destitute ; but the nine Oneida 
sachems, for instance, ruled the Oneida nation conjointly, and when 
the nations met in council, would represent it. The fifty sachems 
were the only official characters known at the councils of the con- 
federacy. The sub-sachems and chiefs had nothing to say. And 
unanimity, as in the Polish diet, was always necessary. Over this 
council, the Tha-do-da-hoh, or great sachem of the confederacy, pre- 
sided. He was always taken from the Onondagas, as we heretofore 
supposed ; but what is very important, it is denied that there was 



No. 24.] - 285 

any such officer as a Tokarihogea, or military chieftain over the con- 
federacy. They recognize no such office, and deny that Brant wa? 
any thing but a chief, or an officer of the third and lowest class. I 
sifted this matter thoroughly, in conversations with Blacksmith, I.a 
Fort, Capt. Frost, and Dr. Wilson, a Cayuga, and am satisfied that 
the Tha-do-da-hoh* was the chief ruler of the Iroquois, and that they 
had no other. We fell into this error by following Stone, who in 
the Life of Brant, pretends to establish in him the title of war chief- 
tain or Tokarihogea of the confederacy In relation to the head 
warriors or military leaders of the nations, there is still some obscu- 
rity. The Seneca nation has two, but the other nations none. The 
truth is, the learning, if we may so call it, of the Iroquois is in the 
hands of a few, and it is very difficult to reach it, as those who are 
the most learned are the most inveterate Indians, and the least com- 
municative. 

Their laws of descent are quite intricate. They follow the female 
line, and as the children always follov/ the tribe of the mother, and 
the man never is allowed to marry in his own tribe, it follows that 
the father and son are never of the same tribe, and hence the son can 
never succeed the father, because the sachemship runs in the tribe of 
the father. It really is quite surprising to find such permanent ori- 
ginal institutions among the Iroquois, and still more surprising that 
these institutions have never seen the light. If I can construct a 
table of descents with any approach to accuracy, I will send it down 
to the Historical Society. The idea at the foundation nf their law 
of descent, is quite a comment upon human nature. The child must 
be the son of the mother, though he may not be of his mother's hus- 
band — quite and absolutely an original code. 

The object of this council was to " raise up sachems'' in the place 
of those who had died. It would require more room than twenty 
letters would furnish to explain what we saw and heard — the mode 
of election and deposition — the lament for the dead — the wampum — 
the two sides of the council fire, &,c. &c., and the other ceremonies 
connected with raising up sachems ; also the dances, the preaching, 
the feast. 

We were well received by the Indians, and they seemed disposed 
to give us whatever information we desired on the religious system 
of the Iroquois, their marriage and burial rites, &c. Faithfully, 

L. T. MORGAN. 

• This is a Seneca pronunciation of the name written Atotarho, by Cusick, ami Ta- 
totarho, by another ami older authority. For a figure of this noted primary ruler, as it it 
given in Iroquois picture writing, see page 132. H. R, S. 



NOTE. 

In Mr. Cusick's statement of his labors, he slates that he has been instrumental in 
forming three churches, consisting of two hundred members; but he omits noticing the 
locality and separate number of these churches. The church over which he presiiles, at 
Tuscarora, constitutes a part, but I am not able to say what part of the number. He 
probably includes the Tonevvanila church in the estimate; but, from this uncertainly it 
was impossible to bring; either definitely into the column of "church members." A 
reference in the appropriate column of the returns from Buflalo, denotes this church also 
to be " incomplete,-' as no return from the missionary, Mr. Wright, has been received 
and the interpreter, Mr. Pierce, who filled up the returns for that station, dropped thi« 
colnmn, after inserting ^re names, under the belief that the information would be given, 
and better given, by the missionary himself. 

Mr, Hall, of Alleghany, returns one more school than appears in the column of schools 
an error which was not detected till the proof sheets had been returned; nor is it known 
whether this includes the schools kept by the Society of Frieuils on that reservation no 
information having been received from their local teacher, who was, however, verbally 
requested to state the n'.miber of his pupils. 

In the pamphlet of this Society, on Seneca affairs, issued at Baltimore, in ISlo, the 
number of pupils under their charge, on the Cattaraugus reservation, is stated at 107, 
and it is added, that an incipient boarding school for girls had been altempted. 

It is not known %vhether, in the four schools reported by Mr. Bliss, at this reservation, 
the teachers and labors of the Society of Friends are included. 

Mr. Rockwood, of Tuscarora, states that there is but one school on that reservation. 

In the column of octogenarians, a typographical error gives the Tonewandas twenty - 
five instead of ten persons who had reached that age. 

In filling up the column headed "persons who adhere to the native religion," the 
rule was to deduct from the total population, all who were reported as members of any 
Christian denomination. 

Errata in the text, typographical and critical, which it was impossible tc avoid, in th« 
haste of a legislative publication, made in due course, there has been no opportunity to 
notice here, and it is hoped the proper consideration will be made. 



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